Notikumi

MFA of Canada: Canada and our @NATO allies are united in our support for Ukraine and its people. Russia must de-escalate and engage in meaningful dialogue— any military incursion into Ukraine will have serious consequences, including coordinated sanctions

It's now Saturday morning in Kazakhstan, where internet has been cut for some 60 hours. The blackout has produced an information vacuum as anti-government protests escalate, hindering independent media and human rights monitors

US Department of State: In fact, we have been clear with Russia, publicly and privately, that should Russia further invade Ukraine we would reinforce our @NATO partners on the eastern flank, to whom we have sacred obligation as Allies

US Department of State: It is not accurate that the administration is developing options for pulling back U.S. forces in Eastern Europe in preparation for discussions with Russia next week, which we told NBC while they were reporting this story

This equipment at Unecha Railway Station - Bryansk Oblast, was still parked there on January 2nd, but has since been moved elsewhere. The parking area is empty on today's Sentinel-2 pass, at 0905z

Denmark will support the three Baltic countries militarily in case of Russian escalation says Danish Minister of Defence

NSC spox Emily Horne responds to @NBCNews report, telling @MollyNagle3, "It is not accurate that the admin is developing options for pulling back US forces in E. Europe in preparation for discussions with Russia next week, which we told NBC while they were reporting this story

Military convoy in Ulan-Ude filmed, comment "the military equipment is on the move, not for the first day"

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde today and discussed shared concerns on Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders.

Developments in Kazakhstan are politically, economically different than what's happening outside Ukraine, Blinken says. "Having said that, I think one lesson of recent history is that, once Russians are in your house, it's sometimes very difficult to get them to leave," he adds

Blinken says "we are very concerned" about developments in Kazakhstan and "have questions" about the nature of the request for assistance from CSTO. "It would seem to me that the Kazakh authorities certainly have the capacity to deal appropriately with protests"

Making non-starter demands to create a pretext for invasion is "certainly part of [Russia's] playbook," Blinken tells @CBSNews @EenaRuffini, "but there are also issues where we can engage"

Blinken: "We would far prefer a diplomatic solution to a crisis that Russia has brought forth. That's what next week's meetings.. are all about." "It will be very difficult to make actual progress if Russia continues to escalate its military buildup & its inflammatory rhetoric

"They want to draw us into a debate about NATO, rather than focus on the matter at hand, which is their aggression toward Ukraine," Blinken says. "We won't be diverted from that issue"

Russia is also undertaking a "significant effort to push propaganda against Ukraine, NATO and the United States," Blinken says. "No one should be surprised if Russia instigates a provocation or incident, then tries to use it to justify military intervention" he says

Blinken in his presser notes that Russia's claims that NATO is threatening Russia is false. NATO "exists to protect, not to attack," he says. "NATO never promised not to admit new members. there was no promise that NATO wouldn't expand"

Blinken says Russia has nearly 100,000 troops at Ukraine's border today, with "plans to mobilize twice that number on very short order

"We're prepared to respond forcefully to further Russian aggression," @SecBlinken says, "but a diplomatic solution is still possible - and preferable - if Russia chooses it

Photo of military equipment posted yesterday. Equipment at Razdol'noe, Primorsky Krai

.@SecBlinken spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister @DmytroKuleba about Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's borders, and upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia. "No conversations about Ukraine without Ukraine”

Russia - "They are gradually building up with more forces, more capabilities" per @NATO's @jensstoltenberg "We see armored units. We see artillery.We see electronic warfare equipment" re Ukraine

Military echelon filmed in Transbaikal region

.@NATO: "We regret that despite the calls of the int'l community over many weeks, Russia has not taken steps to deescalate" per SecGen @jensstoltenberg. "The Russian military build-up continues with tens of thousands of combat troops & heavy capabilities"

Military echelon filmed in Irkutsk region

NATO chief won't be drawn on size & speed of any increase in troops to bolster NATO defences should Russianewly invade Ukraine, but says: "We have significant capabilities. We have troops. We have the readiness. We have the plans to be able to protect and defend all allies"

"When Russia is now finally ready to meet, we should welcome that fact" per @NATO SecGen @jensstoltenberg

"For us there is contradiction between deterrence & dialogue" with Russia, per @NATO SecGen @jensstoltenberg Says there is a lot to discuss, inclu. arms control

@NATO SecGen @jensstoltenberg says alliance must be prepared for possibility talks with Russia over Ukraine break down & if Moscow uses force vs. Kyiv - "There will be severe consequences, a high price to pay" with economic, financial & political sanctions, he says

Allies are following developments in Kazakhstan very closely, says NATO SecGen Stoltenberg, lamenting the loss of life

NATO is concerned about events in Kazakhstan

In terms of where NATO is ready to engage with Russia, @jensstoltenberg says it's ready to talk about "balanced, verifiable" arms control. But he rejects any suggestion of meeting "1-sided" demands that could result in 2nd class NATO members that alliance isn't allowed to protect

Describing Russia's troops presence in & around Ukraine, NATO chief says "Russian military build up has not stopped. It continues." He lists "armoured units, artillery, combat-ready troops, electronic warfare equipment and a lot of different military capabilities"

"We must be prepared for the possibility that diplomacy [with Moscow] will fail," warns NATO SecGen Stoltenberg

NATO chief @jensstoltenberg, referring to Russia's military build-up around Ukraine, says the "risk of conflict is real". He says it's positive that Russia will come to table to talk next week but says the alliance must be prepared for possibility the dialogue may fail

The Russian government prematurely terminated financing of the Federal Target Program for the Development of Crimea and Sevastopol

Russia continues to strengthen its Black Sea Fleet: Sredne-Nevsky built, Russian Navy Project12700 BSF 68th Coastal Defense Ship Brigade, 150th Tactical Group's Aleksandrit-class mine countermeasures vessel Georgiy Kurbatov was towed thru Bosphorus for the first time towards Black Sea

Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A CTA0558K airborne from Almaty Kazahstan

Two low-power explosive devices exploded in a high-rise apartment building in Rostov-on-Don, one person died and one was injured

Twelve more Il-76 and An-124 military transport aircraft departed from the Chkalovsky airfield with servicemen and airborne equipment to Kazakhstan, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.

Arrival of Russian Forces to Zhetigen AB in Kazakhstan

Russian Air Force Ilyushin IL-76MD RFF8246 airborne from Almaty Kazahstan

Commander of Russian airborne troops colonel-general Serdyukov will be the commander of CSTO troops in Kazakhstan - Russian Defense Ministry

3 dead as result of helicopter crash in Bashkirostan

Military convoy filmed in Ivanovo region

Military deployment at Unecha station in Bryansk region

A helicopter with three people on board made a hard landing near the village of Karagaikul in the Blagoveshchensky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan

The CSTO troops in Kazakhstan are authorized to use their weapons - the organization's secretary general said

White House says situation in Kazakhstan won't affect plans for talks with Russia next week - Reuters

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke today with French MFA Secretary General Francois Delattre, German MFA Political Director Tjorven Bellmann, Italian MFA Secretary General Ettore Sequi, and UK Minister of State for Middle East, North Africa and North America James Cleverly. They pledged to continue close U.S.-European coordination to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine and reaffirmed their commitment to impose massive consequences and severe costs on Russia for destabilizing actions.

Looks like @danvan71 has found another possible encampment in the Klintsy area, at a training ground near the village of Unecha. Review of Sentinel-2 imagery shows equipment may have arrived there as early as the first week of November. Imagery below from January 2nd

Representatives of the Russian Federation, Germany and France agreed on further contacts with the participation of Ukraine for an early end to the conflict in the east of the country, Kozak said.

Column of Russian airborne troops on the highway near Ivanovo airfield

.@DeputySecState will lead the US delegation to the talks with Russia in Geneva Monday and the NATO-Russia Council meeting on Wednesday, per @StateDept

Military transport aviation arrives in Ulyanovsk to load the 31st separate guards air assault brigade

China, Russia and beyond "betting democracy's days are numbered," according to @POTUS. "They're betting America will become more like them and less like us

Units of the 45th separate brigade of the special forces of the Russian Airborne Forces(Kubinka), airborne troops from Ivanovo and Ulyanovsk were sent to Kazakhstan as part of the CSTO forces. First units have already arrived on the ground - Russian Defense Ministry

Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman spoke with @NATO Deputy Secretary General @Mircea_Geoana about Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's borders

Secretary of Defense: This morning, I spoke with Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu. We discussed risk reduction near Ukraine's borders

Russian Defense Minister Shoigu had phone call with the head of the Pentagon

Returning from Kazakhstan now: 224th Flight Unit (Russian Air Force) Antonov An-124 reg. RA-82014/15405E currently over Russia. Callsign: RFF8460

MP of Russian State Duma Sultan Hamzaev on his Instagram calls Russia to annex "historical lands of Russia" Kazakhstan

Russia considers events in Kazakhstan as an external-inspired attempt to violently undermine the security and integrity of the state - Russian Foreign Ministry

About 10 detained at protest in support of Kazakhstan people at Chistoprudniy boulevard in Moscow

Lavrov and Çavuşoğlu discussed by phone the situation in Kazakhstan and the upcoming meeting of the Russia-NATO Council

The CSTO secretariat stated that they received request from the Kazakh side for assistance. It says that "the situation is viewed as an invasion of armed gangs trained from abroad.". " Units of the CSTO contingent have already begun to fulfill their tasks in Kazakhstan"