BEIJING, Feb 16 (Reuters) - China accused the United States of "playing up the threat of warfare and creating tension", as U.S. President Joe Biden warned that more than 150,000 Russian troops were still massed near Ukraine's borders following Moscow's announcement of a partial pullback.
Western nations have suggested arms control and confidence-building steps to defuse the stand-off, which has prompted them to urge their citizens to leave Ukraine because an attack could come at any time. Russia denies it has any plans to invade.
"Such persistent hyping up and disinformation by some Western countries will create turbulence and uncertainty to the world full of challenges, and intensify distress and division," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.
"We hope relevant parties will stop such disinformation campaigns and do more to benefit peace, mutual trust and cooperation."
China has been criticised for its stance on Ukraine by some Western leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
"The leadership of the two heads of state, China and Russia, always work to develop long term good neighbourliness and mutually beneficial cooperative relationship on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third countries," spokesman Wang added.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china-says-us-is-exaggerating-russian-threat-ukraine-2022-02-16/
The weather is going to be a biggest factor if Putin standing down than anything else. I have no doubt after watching his actions that he was ready to go, but Jan and Feb ended up being too warm. He couldn’t get the frozen ground to move his armor.
And as much as Ukrainian president wants to declare there is nothing going on you don’t start training old men, women, and teens to act as a civil guard if you aren’t preparing for a likely and imminent invasion.
I won’t rule out a further push into Donbas. He’s basically using the same strategy here as he has in Georgia. Declare a border and then will start moving the fence a couple dozen meters every month. Literal salami tactics.
They could probably take Odessa from the sea as well, but a move on Kiev with these weather conditions would cost a lot in men and material.
Does Ukraine have separatist movements powerful enough to use the same tactic used with Georgia?
They have since 2014. How much of that was a domestic creation though...
People of the eastern regions were imported from Russia during Sovietization.