Ukraine crisis: US troop reinforcements arrive in Poland as Xi backs Putin

WARSAW: US soldiers arrived in Poland on Saturday as part of Nato moves to send in extra troops over fears that Russia could invade Ukraine, a Polish army spokesman told AFP.

"The first batch has arrived at the airport in Jesionka" in southwestern Poland, Major Przemyslaw Lipczynski said, adding that the bulk of a contingent of 1,700 US soldiers would come "soon".

He said the soldiers who arrived on Saturday were from the 82nd Division.

Washington said last week it would send about 3,000 additional troops to eastern Europe to defend Nato members against any "aggression".

Washington is sending 2,000 troops stationed in the US. They are being flown to Germany and Poland. Another 1,000 already in Germany are being sent to Romania.

Western capitals have accused Russia of amassing some 100,000 troops on the borders of pro-Western Ukraine in preparation for an invasion and have vowed to impose devastating sanctions on Moscow if it attacks.Chinese President Xi Jinping backed Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in his standoff with the West over Ukraine as the two leaders met before the Beijing Olympics opening festivities.

The US says Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border and has warned it could invade. Moscow has denied it wants a war. It says Nato expansion near its borders poses a national security threat and wants a pledge that Ukraine — formerly part of the Soviet Union — will never join the transatlantic military alliance.

Diplomatic moves to ease the crisis are set to continue next week when French President Emmanuel Macron heads to Moscow and Kyiv for talks.

Macron spoke by phone to US President Joe Biden on Wednesday to update Washington on his diplomatic push.

And on Thursday night, the French leader talked to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the ways to “identify elements that could lead to de-escalation” and “conditions for strategic balance in Europe, which should allow for the reduction of risks on the ground and guarantee security on the continent”.

While France is a major player in Nato and is moving troops to Romania as part of the alliance’s preparation for possible Russian action, Macron has also been actively pushing for a dialogue with Putin and has spoken to him several times in recent weeks. Macron’s office said the two will hold a one-on-one meeting this Monday.

Macron is not the only European leader heading east. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Ukraine and Russia in mid-February, adding to diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis centring on Russian troops massed near Ukraine’s borders. Government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner said Friday that Scholz will travel to Kyiv on 14 February and Moscow on the next day.

The trip will follow a previously planned meeting in Washington with Biden.

Buechner said the German government is consulting with France and Poland on a meeting between the three countries’ leaders, but a date has not yet been set.

He said that, on Thursday, Scholz will welcome the leaders of the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to the chancellery.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Andrea Sasse said that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will visit Ukraine on Monday and Tuesday, including a trip to the “contact line” with rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine.

After weeks of talks in various diplomatic formats have led to no significant concessions by Russia and the US, it is unclear how much impact the trips will have.

But Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday that “top-level visits seriously reduce challenges in the sphere of security and upset the Kremlin’s plans”.

Separately from Macron and Scholz, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to mediate talks between Russia and Ukraine. Erdogan visited Kyiv this week and, upon returning to Turkey, charged that Western leaders have failed to positively contribute to resolving tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

"I would like to reiterate that we continue to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including in Crimea," he stated after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.