The latest on Ukraine and Russia tensions

US Air Force F-35 fighter jets arrived at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany Wednesday in an effort to strengthen NATO allies and show a united front to Russia.

The jets come from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, joining a number of other aircraft that have already deployed to NATO countries.

On Monday, eight F-15Es from the 336th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Caroline arrived in Lask, Poland, while six KC-135 tankers from the 100th Aerial Refueling Wing at Mildenhall, England arrived at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

“These deployments were conducted in full coordination with host nations and NATO military authorities, and although temporary in nature, they are prudent measures to increase readiness and enhance NATOs collective defense during this period of uncertainty,” the statement from US Air Force in Europe said.

F-35A Lightning II aircraft from the 34th Fighter Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, depart Vermont Air National Guard Base in South Burlington, Vermont, on February 16

The United States says that Russia has added 7,000 troops to its assemblage of forces along the Ukrainian border.

This stands in direct contrast to claims by Russia that it has actually pulled its troops back.

The allegations by the United States come Wednesday evening as a senior administration official says the increase proves that Russia’s assertion of withdrawal is “false,” and suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s apparent warming to the notion of diplomacy is merely a guise.

Wednesday’s new numbers would mean the totality of Russian forces at the border now exceeds the 150,000 figure President Biden shared on Tuesday.

In a speech from the East Room, Biden allowed that a Russian troop withdrawal would be “good,” but quickly noted he’d seen no evidence to suggest such a pullback was indeed underway.

“Our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position,” Biden said. “And the fact remains right now Russia has more than 150,000 troops encircling Ukraine and Belarus and along Ukraine’s border.”

Earlier in the week, Putin said that Russia was sending some troops back to base after the completion of training drills in Crimea, the Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in 2014.

Leaders from Europe and the US, however, universally doubted such a claim.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had not yet seen “any sign of de-escalation on the ground,” adding that “signs from Moscow that diplomacy should continue” were grounds for cautious optimism.

US Secretary Antony Blinken concurred, saying on Wednesday that there is “a difference between what Russia says and what it does.”

“What we’re seeing is no meaningful pullback,” Blinken added.

Watch CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh report on the increased US military and NATO presence in Poland amid the potential threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine:

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02:28 - Source: cnn

A bipartisan resolution condemning Russia’s aggression and actions towards Ukraine could get a vote on the Senate floor as soon as tomorrow, according to Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of both the Senate Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The resolution is being offered after talks about a bipartisan sanctions bill halted when Republican Sen. Jim Risch, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a Republican-only Russia sanctions bill on Tuesday.

Now there is an effort among bipartisan senators to come to an agreement on some language condemning Russia’s actions against Ukraine to show broad support among Democrats and Republicans for Ukraine while tensions remain extremely high between the two countries. The main proposal being floated is a joint resolution led by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Sen. Rob Portman, but Risch said several proposals are being floated. 

Risch said there was a “legitimate disagreement” on the extent of sanctions proposed by Democrats and Republicans. 

“I suspect and I predict that if there’s an invasion,” of Russia into Ukraine, “my bill is going to become very, very popular,” Risch said, referring to the Russian sanctions bill he introduced on Tuesday.

More context: A group of senators are traveling to Germany on Thursday for the Munich Security Conference, where several world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other heads of state and ministers, will be in attendance.

Kaine believes senators traveling to the conference want to show some kind of support for Ukraine before heading overseas, which is why it’s possible the resolution could come tomorrow.

“We’ve got a bunch of colleagues going to Munich, and I suspect that they would like to have something,” Kaine said.

US stocks ended Wednesday mostly unchanged as investors remained focused on Russia-Ukraine headlines.

The market rallied from earlier lows after the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, which suggested the Fed may not raise rates as aggressively as feared.

Earlier in the day, the government reported that US retail sales rose sharply in January, rebounding from a decline in December.

Here’s how the market looked at the closing bell:

Watch a market strategist explain why geopolitical volatility could be a future buying opportunity:

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02:00 - Source: cnn

Satellite images taken over the past two days show new road construction and a tactical bridge being built across a key river in Belarus less than four miles from the Ukrainian border, amid what sources say is an ongoing buildup of Russian military forces encircling three sides of Ukrain

Satellite images taken over the past two days show new road construction and a tactical bridge being built across a key river in Belarus less than four miles from the Ukrainian border, amid what sources say is an ongoing buildup of Russian military forces encircling three sides of Ukraine.

Western intelligence and military officials are closely tracking the construction as part of the support infrastructure Russia is putting in place in advance of a potential invasion, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.  

Both the new road construction and the bridge, across the Pripyat River in southern Belarus, are less than four miles from the border and could be used by Russian forces currently in Belarus in a drive to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. The satellite images, from Maxar and Planet Labs, show the appearance of the pontoon bridge virtually overnight on Tuesday.  

Russia is building “bridges, field hospitals, all kinds of support infrastructure,” said one source familiar with the matter. “Which is why we aren’t really taking seriously their claims of de-escalation.”

It’s unclear whether Russian forces or Belarus are constructing the bridge. Belarus is Russia’s closest international ally in the standoff and is currently hosting Russian troops and equipment as part of what Russia insists are “exercises.” Western officials assess that those forces could be used to invade Ukraine from the north, in particular, if Russia chooses to march on Kyiv.

While no concentrations of armor have been seen near the bridge, Russian forces have deployed to forward positions some 80 miles to the east — and one convoy was seen on a road leading to the area.   

According to western intelligence assessments, Russian President Vladimir Putin is positioned to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine at any time — although the US still does not believe he has made a decision yet.

Russia yesterday issued a number of conflicting signals, including announcing that some of its forces would be pulling back from the Ukrainian border. But officials have said publicly that there is no sign of de-escalation on the border and multiple sources familiar with up-to-date intelligence told CNN that Russia was still actively moving forces closer to the border on Wednesday. Some long-range artillery has been placed in firing positions, according to a senior western intelligence official and another source familiar with the matter.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres held a phone call on Wednesday evening to discuss the crisis on Ukraine’s border, during which they agreed a Russian invasion would have “catastrophic” consequences, according to a readout from Downing Street. 

“The leaders reiterated states’ responsibility to abide by their obligations under the United Nations Charter and to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of UN members,” the spokesperson said.

Johnson and Guterres also “reaffirmed the importance of all parties working in good faith to implement the Minsk Agreements,” according to the readout.  

“They agreed to continue working closely together to pursue an urgent diplomatic resolution and avert a disastrous military escalation and humanitarian crisis,” the Downing Street spokesperson added.

Britain will double the number of its troops in Estonia as part of a NATO deployment amid ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense announced in a statement Wednesday.  

“The UK is doubling the number of personnel in Estonia and sending additional equipment, including tanks and armored fighting vehicles. The troops and equipment will begin to move to Estonia today,” according to the statement.  

The announcement comes during Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace’s visit to Brussels to discuss the situation in Ukraine with North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies.  

The Royal Welsh battalion, which includes armored vehicles and personnel, will begin to arrive in Estonia in the coming week, the statement said, adding that Apache helicopters will “soon” be conducting exercises with NATO allies and partners in Eastern Europe. 

Four additional UK Typhoon jets have landed in Cyprus and will begin to patrol the skies in the region alongside NATO allies, the statement added. The UK has put 1,000 additional British personnel “at readiness in the UK to support a humanitarian response, if needed.”

The majority of the 350 Royal Marines of the 45 Commando unit committed to Poland have already arrived, the ministry said. 

Wallace stressed that “de-escalation and diplomacy remain the only path out of this situation” at the Ukraine-Russia border. 

During his meetings in Brussels on Wednesday, Wallace said Russia “needed to match its actions to its words and truly deescalate.” 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki during the daily briefing in Washington on February 16.

The White House says the window for a potential Russian attack on Ukraine remains open and warned a fabricated pretext for an incursion could include reports like one Wednesday about mass graves in Donbas.

She said the US was not taking Russian claims of de-escalation at face value.

“There’s what Russia says and what Russia does,” Psaki said. Russian troops “remain amassed in a threatening way on the border.”

Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins what a “meaningful de-escalation” would look like, Psaki did not provide specifics.

“We will know it when we see it,” she said, noting the US was seeking a “verifiable reduction of troops on the border with Ukraine” but not laying out metrics.

She repeated White House warnings of “false flag” events meant to create the pretext for an invasion and said “everyone should keep eyes open” for fake videos or reports emerging on Russian media.

Asked about a cyberattack in Ukraine that took down some government websites, Psaki said she didn’t have details on attribution for who was responsible. She said making such a determination was difficult because adversaries work to “hide their tracks” in cyberspace.

And she said the “door continues to be open for diplomacy,” though said Russian responses to US security concerns hadn’t yet been received in Washington.

“I think we are still waiting for that,” she said.

The White House dispatched two officials to Saudi Arabia this week to press the kingdom to pump more oil as fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine cause energy prices to rise, a potentiality President Biden warned about in a speech on Tuesday could get worse if Russia attacks.

National Security Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and the State Department’s energy envoy, Amos Hochstein, were in Riyadh on Wednesday, a senior US official confirmed to CNN, attempting to shore up the relationship more broadly but also to lobby Saudi officials to pump more crude oil and stabilize markets.

The Saudis have been resistant to any changes in production because of their commitments to OPEC+, a consortium of oil-producing countries that includes Russia, the official said. The officials’ trip to Saudi Arabia follows a phone call between Biden and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud last week, in which they discussed “ensuring the stability of global energy supplies,” according to a White House readout of the call.

Biden, in a speech on Tuesday, said that a Russian invasion of Ukraine was unlikely to be “painless” for Americans.

US officials have continued to claim that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen at any moment, though Biden said on Tuesday that he still sees a window for diplomacy. Given the high risk of a Russian attack, the Biden administration has been making contingency plans for months to shore up Europe’s energy supplies should a Russian invasion of Ukraine create gas shortages and roil the global economy, CNN has previously reported.

Read more here.

As bipartisan Russia sanction talks remain stalled, some senators are looking for symbolic rebukes of Russia and to show US solidarity behind Ukraine.

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Sen. Rob Portman plan to introduce a non-binding resolution today that would condemn Russia’s behavior, Shaheen told CNN. It’s unclear when that measure would get a vote.

Some more context: Republican senators introduced their own sanctions package Tuesday after weeks of failed negotiations between bipartisan senators. Senators could not agree on whether to include sanctions that deal with the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline. 

The proposed Republican sanctions package, introduced as the Never Yielding Europe’s Territory (NYET) Act, would “mandate sanctions” on the Nord Stream 2 project “without a waiver should Russia invade,” a release about the act said.

After lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on a sanctions package or a resolution, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and GOP leader Mitch McConnell released a bipartisan statement Tuesday from Senate leaders on Russia, writing: 

CNN’s Ali Zaslav, Ted Barrett, Lauren Fox and Ellie Kaufman contributed reporting to this post.

The Pentagon confirmed that three US Navy P-8A aircraft “experienced unprofessional intercepts by Russian aircraft” last weekend in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea, according to spokesperson Capt. Mike Kafka. 

CNN reported earlier that a aircraft had an “extremely close” encounter with the Russian military jets, according to multiple US officials directly familiar with the US military reports of the incident. The officials would not detail precisely how close the Russian aircraft came to the aircraft.

The initial reporting indicates there was a subsequent additional encounter after that between US and Russian jets.

Several of the sources indicated there is video of the incident, but the Biden administration has yet to publicly acknowledge any of the details amid rising tensions with the Russians. 

More background: It is not unusual for Russian aircraft to approach US military aircraft but the majority of the interactions are considered safe and professional by the US.

CNN also has reported that US military aircraft escorted a Russian cargo plane and fighters across an air exclusion zone in eastern Syria on Tuesday when the Russians failed to give appropriate advance notification of their flights, according to other US officials.

US officials continue to say these close and unexpected encounters risk a miscalculation that could lead to a military incident.

Oil prices bounced back to $95 a barrel on Wednesday as US and NATO officials say they see no sign of de-escalation on the ground in the Russia-Ukraine standoff.

US crude jumped as much as 3.2% to an intraday peak of $95.01 a barrel. This comes after oil prices fell sharply Tuesday after Russian announced it is withdrawing some troops following the completion of recent drills near Ukraine.

The rebound reflects lingering concerns about an invasion of Ukraine that threatens to disrupt Russia’s vast energy supplies at a time when global supply is already failing to keep up with demand.  

Some more context: US oil hit a seven-year high of $95.82 a barrel on Monday on Russia-Ukraine fears. In recent trading, oil was up 2.7% to $94.57 a barrel. Brent crude, the world benchmark, gained 2.6% to $95.75 a barrel.

The US stock market also gave up some of its sizable gains from Tuesday, with the Dow falling 225 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq losing 1%.

President Joe Biden expressed skepticism on Tuesday about Russia’s claims of removing troops. Similarly, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that despite “signs from Moscow” that diplomacy should continue, “we do not see any sign of de-escalation on the ground.”  

Yawger said those comments from Biden and NATO are renewing concern in the market about a conflict. 

“Investors justifiably believe the president of the largest democracy on the planet and the largest military alliance in the world,” instead of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yawger said.

Natural gas is also rising sharply, with futures jumping nearly 7% to $4.60 per million BTU.

The office of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Lugansk, Ukraine on February 15.

Germany plans to leave Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observers in Ukraine and even “stock up” staff for the OSCE mission in Ukraine in order to pursue its mission of diplomatic dialogue, said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday.

Baerbock added that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is also playing an important role in preventing diplomatic misunderstandings amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine. 

“Especially in such critical moments, we need OSCE to establish transparency and prevent dangerous misunderstandings,” she continued.

“Austria and Germany are sharing the same goal: Ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and with this the European security architecture,” Baerbock said. “This contains the right of all people in all our countries to live free from fear of war.”

Baerbock said she welcomes Russian announcements of further negotiations and a partial withdrawal of Russian troops as a positive signal, if true.

“We will monitor closely whether these announcements will be followed by real action. It remains clear, that the plan is to de-escalate,” Baerbock added. “Peace is the superior asset in Europe. The way out of this highly dangerous situation is only possible via dialogue and confidence-building.”

A Ukrainian frontier guard stands at the check point on the border with Russia, near the city of Kharkiv, on February 16.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today that despite “signs from Moscow” that diplomacy should continue, there was no sign of de-escalation on the ground at Russia-Ukraine border. 

“Allies welcome all the diplomatic efforts and there are signs from Moscow that the diplomacy should continue. But so far, we do not see any sign of de-escalation on the ground. No withdrawals of troops or equipment. This may of course change,” he said at a press briefing following a summit of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.  

Calling the tensions between Russia and Ukraine “the most serious security crisis in Europe in decades,” Stoltenberg said that NATO remains prepared for dialogue and that it is not too late for Russia to “step back from the brink of conflict and choose the path of peace.” 

“NATO is not a threat to Russia,” he added.   

Earlier today, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed similar comments, saying that the US is not seeing evidence that Russia is pulling back troops from the border of Ukraine, despite Russian claims. 

“Unfortunately, there’s a difference between what Russia says and what it does. And what we’re seeing is no meaningful pullback,” Blinken said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

A high-volume cyberattack that temporarily blocked access to the websites of Ukrainian defense agencies and banks on Tuesday was “the largest [such attack] in the history of Ukraine,” but it’s too early to tell who was responsible, Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said at a news conference Wednesday.

The so-called distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack — which throttled Ukrainian websites with phony traffic — was coordinated and well-planned, officials said. DDoS attacks often disrupt access to IT systems, but their impact can be more psychological than having any direct effect on a country’s critical infrastructure.

While down for parts of Tuesday, the websites of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces, and those of two prominent banks, were back up Wednesday, according to CNN journalists in Ukraine. The DDoS attack, however, is still ongoing, Ukrainian officials said.

The incident comes as Russia has massed an estimated 150,000 troops close to Ukraine’s border, according to US President Biden, and as US officials warn that a fresh Russian invasion could come at any time. Russia has denied it is planning to invade Ukraine.

The US government is investigating the cyberattack on Ukrainian websites, a top State Department official said Wednesday, while suggesting that Russia has a history of carrying out such hacks.

“But who is best at this, who uses this weapon all around the world? Obviously, the Kremlin,” Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said on “CBS Mornings.”

She credited Ukrainian officials for responding quickly and helping the websites recover. 

Internet traffic hitting Ukrainian websites during the DDoS attack was “three orders of magnitude more than regularly observed traffic,” according to data collected by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. 

Ninety-nine percent of the traffic involved a type of digital request to computer servers, “indicating the attackers were attempting to overwhelm Ukrainian servers,” said Adam Meyers, cybersecurity technology company CrowdStrike’s senior vice president of intelligence.

A Ukrainian intelligence report recently obtained by CNN pointed to Russia’s effort to destabilize “Ukraine’s internal situation by using economic, energy, information, cyber, social, ethnic, and other tools.”

Ukraine has assessed that Russia and Belarus were responsible for a separate cyberattack that hit government websites last month. “As a result of a massive hacker attack on the night of January 14, 2022, the web pages of the Government of Ukraine” were shut down. The attacks were carried out by a group affiliated with the Russian and Belarusian special services,” the Ukrainian intelligence report said.

Similarities in the infrastructure used in Tuesday’s DDoS attack and the one last month suggest the incidents could be connected, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday.

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood contributed reporting to this post.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell during a news conference on February 15, in Washington.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, praised President Biden for his speech on the situation Ukraine-Russia crisis on Tuesday, saying there “was much in the President’s remarks that I appreciated.”

He continued to say, “It’s fine for President Biden to engage in good faith diplomacy provided we’re skeptical about Putin’s intentions.” 

McConnell added that the US must keep sending strong messages to Russia “verbally and with concrete actions.”

“I’m hopeful that President Biden will rise to the occasion,” he said. “As a bipartisan group of colleagues and I made clear in a joint statement yesterday, the President would have overwhelming bipartisan support to use his existing executive authorities for tough sanctions against Russia in the event of conflict.”

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that “our concern has not abated a single bit” as Russia continues its buildup of troops near the Ukrainian border.

There’s been “no meaningful sign of de-escalation, no meaningful Russian troop withdrawals from the borders,” Price told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Wednesday.  

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this morning there has been “no meaningful pullback” of Russian forces, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement Tuesday that that Russia was sending some troops back to base after completing drills.

“The fact that Putin can take any number of courses were he to choose to do so, that is what gives us profound concern,” Price said.

“We know that the playbook could include everything from cyberattacks to electronic warfare to aerial bombardment to a large-scale incursion. We are prepared for every eventuality,” he added.

While it remains the “strong, strong, strong preference” to find a diplomatic solution, Price said, the Russians will need to de-escalate and “take meaningful steps that they have yet to take.” 

President Joe Biden arrives to deliver remarks on the situation with Russia and Ukraine in the East Room of the White House on February 15.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said President Biden has told her the administration would seek “severe, swift, immediate economic retaliation” if Russia were to invade Ukraine, amid rising tensions along the Ukrainian border.

This follows Biden’s remarks Tuesday in which he made an appeal for diplomacy to continue as the world watches to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin orders an invasion of neighboring Ukraine, but also warned that a Russian attack on Ukraine will “be met with overwhelming international condemnation.”

Raimondo also noted Wednesday that if Russia invades, “there would be disruption to the global economy, not just the US economy,” and that the Biden administration is “doing everything we can to avoid that eventuality.” 

Raimondo added that “it’s hard to know exactly how disruptive it would be to our economy,” pointing to concerns about potential increases in fuel prices. 

“We’re already starting to think about what can we do to surge capacity, working with our allies, working with companies to make sure that we are ready to increase supply if necessary,” Raimondo said in the interview.

Asked about the risks of cyberattacks and possible impact on US businesses, Raimondo stressed the Biden administration is “monitoring this every minute of every day” and “there aren’t as I sit here, you know, credible threats — though that could change, right, in five minutes.” 

Raimondo said US agencies are “hardening our own systems,” in addition to the Biden administration being in “constant communication” with private sector companies.

“It’s just this constant communication with the biggest private sector companies, with the private sector companies that run America’s infrastructure, to make sure that we have this seamless information flow, so that we’re protected but also we can react immediately if something happens,” said Raimondo. 

US stocks opened lower on Wednesday as investors continued to eye the situation in Ukraine as well as the Fed.

 At 2 p.m. ET, the Fed is set to release minutes from its January meeting that should offer new insights into the central bank’s plan to fight inflation by raising interest rates and shrinking its balance sheet.

Here’s what the markets looked like this morning:

Ukrainian police officers march in Independence Square in central Kyiv on February 16.

European leaders will convene tomorrow for a newly arranged face-to-face meeting in Brussels to discuss the latest Russia-Ukraine developments.