Moscow police launched a series of raids Wednesday on apartments and offices of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s family and associates, arresting his brother.
The searched locations included Navalny’s apartment, where police detained his brother, Oleg, and a rented apartment where Navalny’s wife, Yulia, has been living.
Video on the internet TV station Dozhd showed Yulia Navalny telling journalists from the window that police had not allowed her lawyer to enter the apartment.
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Germany’s refusal to join other NATO members in providing weapons to Ukraine has caused some allies to question Berlin’s resolve to oppose Russia.
The U.S. and U.K. over the past few weeks revealed critical information regarding Russia’s plans, including the intention to run a "false-flag operation" in Ukraine to justify invasion along with plans to install a pro-Russian leader. These revelations drove NATO allies to send troops to nearby countries, such as the U.S. deploying planes to Estonia, Denmark sending fighter jets to Lithuania and France sending troops to Romania.
But Germany has remained relatively quiet, with at least one report from the weekend that Berlin had gone so far as to block Estonia from supplying old German howitzers to Kyiv. Ukraine criticized Germany, saying that it's stance on arms supplies does "not correspond to the level of our relations and the current security situation."
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A U.S. State Department official claimed that intelligence shows "every indication" Russia will use military force in Ukraine by mid-February.
An unnamed U.S. official first told Fox News on Jan. 14 that Russia had started to prepare for a "false-flag operation" in eastern Ukraine, which would provide the pretext for an invasion. The official said that preparations would take several weeks, meaning that any invasion would likely begin by mid-February at the latest.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman reiterated those claims on Wednesday while speaking at the Yalta European Strategy Forum.
"I have no idea whether he's made the ultimate decision, but we certainly see every indication that he is going to use military force sometime perhaps (between) now and the middle of February," Sherman said.
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{{#rendered}}Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday that the United States has delivered written responses to demands made by Russia, saying it will be up to the Kremlin on how they want to proceed amid heightening tensions between Moscow and Ukraine.
Russia had issued a list of demands in December, including a promise to not admit Ukraine as a member of NATO and to withdraw troops from the region even as Russia continued to amass troops near the Ukraine border, increasing fears that Moscow will order an invasion of its neighbor.
Blinken, on Wednesday, said that U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation John Sullivan hand-delivered the Biden administration's written responses to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow.
Blinken said the administration is not releasing the document publicly because "we think that diplomacy has the best chance to succeed if we provide space for confidential talks."
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. response to Russia's demands were "fully coordinated with Ukraine and our European allies and partners" and that he will be briefing Congressional leaders later today on the matter.
Blinken also said he expects to speak with his Russian counterpart, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, in the coming days after Russia has had a chance to go over the response and that NATO would deliver one of its own as well.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday that the U.S. has delivered written responses to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding its security demands involving NATO.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked for guarantees that Kyiv will be barred from NATO and that no strategic weapons will be placed in Ukraine.
"All told it sets out a serious diplomatic path forward should Russia choose it," Blinken said. "The document we delivered includes concerns of the United States and our allies and partners about Russia's actions that undermine security."
{{#rendered}}U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to address the media at noon as concerns grow over the Biden administration's response to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
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Fox News Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Greg Palkot reports with the latest from Kyiv, Ukraine.
{{#rendered}}Six U.S. fighter jets have arrived in Estonia, as part of the United States' broader effort with NATO allies to support the Baltic Air Policing Mission as Russia continues to threaten invasion in Ukraine, United States European Command said Wednesday.
The F-15E fighters belong to the 48th Fighter Wing of the U.S. Air Force and arrived to Estonia from their permanent home base in United Kingdom Lakenheath Air Force Base. EUCOM said the fighters would remain in the region until the end of next week.
"Baltic and enhanced Air Policing are enduring NATO missions that deliver constant vigilance of Allied airspace and contribute to the Alliance’s collective defence posture," Major General Jöerg Lebert, Chief of Staff, Headquarters Allied Air Command said. "The additional aircraft will work closely with the current detachments to increase our readiness, build crucial interoperability and underline the robust solidarity across the Alliance."
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The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine on Wednesday has issued a new alert urging American citizens there now "to consider departing now using commercial or other privately available transportation options."
"The security situation in Ukraine continues to be unpredictable due to the increased threat of Russian military action and can deteriorate with little notice," the alert also said.
Around 25% of U.S. embassy personnel in Ukraine are expected to depart this week, in addition to families of embassy workers, a congressional source said.
The source also noted President Biden is not seeking any more aid to Ukraine than the $200 million that has already been authorized.
Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was quoted by the Associated Press Wednesday as saying that the number of Russian troops near the border with his country poses a risk, but “their number is now insufficient for a large-scale offensive.”
Ukrainian officials in recent days have been trying to downplay concerns of any potential Russian miltiary invasion.
“They are still missing some key military elements and systems to mount a big, full-scale offensive,” Kuleba told reporters, according to the AP.
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Russia’s top diplomat on Wednesday promised to take appropriate measures if the West’s response to Moscow’s security demands is not found to be constructive.
The U.S. agreed with Russia that it would answer questions regarding NATO's military presence in the region. The Kremlin has accused the West of a military expansion that raises security concerns for Moscow, Reuters reported. The report said Ukraine had no objections to the U.S. responses.
"If we do not receive a constructive answer from the west on our security demands, Moscow will take appropriate measures," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a statement.
Russia is seeking sweeping security measures and the guarantee that Ukraine will not be allowed to join the transatlantic NATO alliance.
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Images have emerged Wednesday purportedly showing Russian fighter jets heading to Belarus – which shares a border with Ukraine – for joint military drills there next month.
The movements come as Russia has already amassed more than 125,000 troops along Ukraine’s border.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it deployed Su-35 fighter jets and a paratrooper unit to Belarus, just a day after it sent artillery forces and marines to the former Soviet country, Reuters reported, citing the Interfax news agency.
Elsewhere along Ukraine’s border, Russian artillery squads are expected to hold firing drills Wednesday in the southern Rostov region as part of a combat readiness inspection, Reuters added.
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