Page 7 - Ivan Timofeev News Today

The Kremlin said on Tuesday it remained open to all diplomatic contacts over Ukraine and that any action by Kyiv to cut ties with Moscow would worsen an already tense situation.

MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in the Ukraine standoff by recognizing the independence of rebel regions in the country’s east, and a key question now is whether he will stop at that or try to move deeper into Ukraine. Putin signaled his readiness to up the ante…

The expert named the main areas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in the Ukraine standoff by recognizing the independence of rebel regions in the country’s east

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in the Ukraine standoff by recognizing the independence of rebel regions in the country's east, and a key question now is whether he will stop at that or try to move deeper into Ukraine.

The West has promised harsh sanctions against Russia should it invade Ukraine. But Russians seem ready for them, both mentally and economically.

The main task for Russia is to avoid excessive overexertion and, at the same time, not get bogged down in a costly confrontation, maintaining and using levers of pressure on the West where its own interests require it, Valdai Club Programme Director Ivan Timofeev writes.

"Russia believes that weakness narrative, and not just about Biden, not even primarily about Biden, about the West, about the United States and Europe," Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on

The Kremlin’s aim would probably be to shatter Ukrainian military power and dictate terms | Europe

World Insights: Russia, U.S. still at odds after security talks in Geneva-