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Russo-Ukraine War - 20 February 2022

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"The big question remains: does the Kremlin want dialogue?" European Council President Charles Michel asked at the Munich Security Conference on 20 February 2022. "We cannot forever offer an olive branch while Russia conducts missile tests and continues to amass troops," he added. "Every indication indicates that Russia is planning a full-fledged attack against Ukraine," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, echoing US President Joe Biden, who believes the invasion is imminent.

CBS News reported: "The U.S. has intelligence that Russian commanders have received orders to proceed with an invasion of Ukraine, with commanders on the ground making specific plans for how they would maneuver in their sector of the battlefield."

Russian troops would stay in Belarus indefinitely. Belarus Defence Minister Khrenin made an official statement 20 February 2022: "Due to increased military activity near the borders and escalation in Donbas, Belarus and Russia decided to continue joint inspections of response forces". More than 10 Russian ships passed under the Crimean Bridge and entered the Sea of Azov, including the Novocherkassk Project 775 and the Saratov Project 1171 large landing ships and Pavel Derzhavin Project 22160 patrol ship.

Kiev is implementing a plan to invade the territory of Donbass with the approval of Western countries. This was stated in the People's Militia of the self-proclaimed DPR 20 February 2022. According to her, the Ukrainian military shelled the objects of peaceful infrastructure and life support of the region, and also carried out terrorist acts. “The armed forces of the enemy are ready for the forceful capture of Donbass. Kiev, with the approval of the Westerners, has begun to implement a plan to invade the territory of our republic, ” the police said. The People's Militia of the self-proclaimed LPR reported that the Ukrainian military made an attempt to attack the positions of the Lugansk People's Republic, which led to the destruction of five residential buildings and civilian casualties.

France's presidential office said the presidents of the United States and Russia agreed "in principle" to hold a summit to discuss the Ukraine situation. The White House said that the meeting will only take place if Russia does not invade Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke separately with Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin by telephone. The French presidential office said Macron proposed the idea of a summit. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there were no concrete plans, but a summit will be held anytime either via phone or in person if the two leaders consider it necessary.

The United States informed the United Nations that it believes Russia is planning to kill or detain a substantial number of critics, dissidents, and "vulnerable communities" in Ukraine during an invasion. Ambassador Bathsheba Nell Crocker, the United States' representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, made the claims in a letter to Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The report was refuted by the Kremlin.

The Ambassador stated in the letter that "We have credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation." According to Crocker in the letter, the US believes Russia will "likely target those who oppose Russian actions, including Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons." Crocker went on to claim that "Russian forces will likely use lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests or otherwise counter peaceful exercises of perceived resistance from civilian populations." The Kremlin dismissed Crocker's allegations as "fiction."