SUNDAY,FEBRUARY 20 , 2022 .THEWASHINGTONPOST EZ SU A25
foreign dignitariesandalarge
delegation from the United
States. “And this playbookis too
familiar for us all. Russia will
pleadignoranceandinnocence.
It will create afalsepretext for
invasion. Anditwillamass
troops andfirepower in plain
sight.”
Putin has accused Ukraine,
without presenting evidence,of
fomenting “genocide”against
peopleinseparatist-controlled
Ukraine, as residentsof those
regions beganevacuating to Rus-
sia. On Saturday, RussianForeign
Ministryspokeswoman Maria
Zakharova said Ukraine was
committing “crimesagainsthu-
manity” and accusedthe West of
being “accomplices.”Western
leaders in Munich denounced
suchchargesas“ridiculous.”
Chinese ForeignMinister
Wang Yi, speakingtothe Munich
conferencevia video link,did not
commenton the buildupofRus-
sianforces.But he insisted that
implementingthe Minsk agree-
ment—anaccordstruckin 2015
to settle hostilities in eastern
Ukraine—was the “only wayout”
of thecurrentcrisis,according to
the Chinese statebroadcaster
CCTV.Without namingthe Unit-
ed States, Wang criticized “cer-
tainmajorcountries”of “hyping
up issues, creating panic and
trumpeting the threatofwar.”
Zelensky, too,urged Western
leadersto spendless timewarn-
ing Kyiv aboutthe number of
Russian troopsonUkraine’s
doorstep,and to insteadbreak
their“silence”abouthowtheir
nations planned to respond.
Speaking to CNN in Munich,
Zelenskycalledon the United
States andEuropeto articulate
whatsanctions theywould im-
pose onRussia, to serve as a
deterrent.
“Wedon’t needyoursanctions
after the bombardmentwillhap-
pen and after our country willbe
fired at,orafter we will have no
UKRAINEFROMA24 bordersand after we will have no
economyorpartofour country
will be occupied,”Zelenskysaid.
“Why wouldwe needthose sanc-
tionsthen?”
But the Biden administration
has beenreluctantto articulate
its planned targetswithsuch
specificity. Theadministration
has hintedthatsanctionswould
target at leastsomeofRussia’s
larger state-owned banks; re-
stricting Russian exports also
remains apotential tool.Mean-
while,Congress’sattemptstoar-
ticulate the gamutof measures
vialegislation effectively ran
aground thispastweek overa
dispute between the parties
aboutwhat sanctionsoughtto be
imposed immediately,asop-
posedtointhe event of an
invasion.
Later on Saturday, Ukraine
announcedthatashipmentof
rifles,machinegunsandother
militaryequipmenthadarrived
in Lviv.The UnitedStates has
also sentUkraineotherweapons
in recentmonths.
But Zelenskyasked for greater
commitments, daring Western
leaders to “behonest”about
whentheyplanned to incorpo-
rateUkraine into theiralliances
and step up to its defense.
“If not all the membersare
willingto see us there[in NATO],
or all membersdon’t wantto see
us there, be honestabout it,”
Zelenskysaid, committing to de-
fendhis countrywithorwithout
help.“Opendoorsare good, but
we needopenanswers,and not
the yearsand years of closed
questions.”
MekhennetandHudsonreported
fromMunich,andDemirjian,
NakashimaandHarrisreportedfrom
Washington.AlexHortonandDavid
L.Sterncontributedtothisreport
fromKyiv,Ukraine;SteveHendrix
fromNovoluhanske,Ukraine;Robyn
DixonfromMoscow;CleveWootson
fromMunich;Lily KuofromTaipei;
andMichaelBirnbaum,ClaireParker
andTimothyBellafromWashington.ANDREWHARNIK/POOL/ASSOCIATEDPRESS400 MILESDetailKyivMoscow
RUSSIABELARUSMOL.Crimea
Annexed by Russia
in2014UKR
AI
NERUSSIARUSSIAUKRAINE20 MILESMariupolTaganrogHorlivkaLuhanskDonetskSeaof
AzovSSSSSSSSeeeeeeeeepppppppppparaaaaaatiiiist-
cccconnnnttttttttrrrrrrrrrroooooooolllllllllllllllleeeeeeeedddd
aaaaaaaarrrreeeeeeeeaaaaaaaa
Stanytsia Luhanska
Novoluhanske
Sources:OpenStreetMapandMaps4News/HERE THEWASHINGTONPOSTVicePresidentHarris meets
with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyduring a
securityconference in Munich.
ShesaidRussiarisks “economic
measures that will be swiftand
severe”ifitinvades Ukraine.18 Months
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