According to a report published on the Der Spiegel news portal, the US intelligence services warned NATO allies more urgently than ever before about Russia's upcoming attack on Ukraine. On Friday, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the army also informed the German government and other NATO member states that, based on their new information, the operation could start as early as next Wednesday.
The secret briefings held by diplomats and soldiers described, among other things, the specific routes of the Russian invasion, as well as the individual Russian units and the tasks assigned to them.
Der Spiegel's unnamed sources said: it is not possible to know what information the Americans' warning was based on, but the information describing the possible operation was detailed and rich in sources. They added: it is possible that Washington shared its information with the intention of torpedoing the Russian attack plan.
Der Spiegel's report also mentioned that US President Joe Biden held a video conference with the leaders of several allied countries on Friday.
Source: Twitter
Regarding this meeting, the spokesman of the German federal government, Steffen Hebestreit, announced on Friday evening that Chancellor Olaf Scholz participated in a video conference in the afternoon with the American, Polish, French and Romanian heads of state, the Italian, British and Canadian heads of government, the European Commission and with the President of the European Council and the Secretary General of NATO.
According to the statement, they are all "watching with great concern the further increase in tension caused by Russian military activity along the Ukrainian border." The participants of the meeting expressed their solidarity with Ukraine and emphasized that Russia can expect severe countermeasures if it attacks Ukraine.
At the same time, they reiterated the call to Russia to reduce tensions and seek a dialogue-based settlement of the conflict, including the implementation of the Minsk agreements developed by the Normandy group of countries made up of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia, the German government spokesman said in a statement.
MTI
Cover image: Illustration / Hayk Baghdasaryan | Source: MTI/MTVA
