"They tell us February16 will be the day of the attack. We will make it a day of unity."

"They are trying to frighten us by yet another naming [of] a date for the start of military action."

"On that day, we will hang our national flags, wear yellow and blue banners, and show the whole world our unity."

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy 

"It is quite understandable why Ukrainians today are skeptical about various 'specific dates' of the so-called 'start of the invasion' announced in the media."

"When the 'start of the invasion' becomes some sort of rolling tour date, such media announcements can only be taken with irony."

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Zelenskiy chief of staff

 

"I won't get into a specific date. I don't think that would be smart."

"I would just tell you that it is entirely possible that he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] could move with little to no warning."

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby

"We have already warned more than once that we will not allow endless negotiations on questions that demand a solution today."

"It seems to me that our possibilities are far from exhausted ... At this stage, I would suggest continuing and building them up."

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov

Service members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces drive a tank during military exercises in Kharkiv region, Ukraine February 10, 2022. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy

No end of stern warnings going Moscow's way from Western countries threatening sanctions whose scale would be, purportedly, unprecedented should Russia decide to invade its neighbour. That is an official invasion, not merely the invasion of the ethnic Russian Ukrainian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk who claim the Donbas and any other part of East Ukraine -- at least for the moment, until they can extend their ambitions -- to be part of Greater Russia.

On Monday the Group of Seven largest economies gave warning of "economic and financial sanctions which will have massive and immediate consequences on the Russian economy". Well, the Kremlin is holding fast. Russian security, first and foremost. For NATO to creep any closer to Russia's borders is quite simply unacceptable. On which account demands have been made which would effectively allow Moscow to take an unofficial yet officious seat on NATO's governing body.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated his belief "from his own analysis, his own hopes" following discussions with the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, that conflict will not occur, according to to a UN spokesperson. Again and yet again Moscow points out that Ukraine's aspiration to join NATO is perceived by them as an existential threat to Russian stability and security.

All the parties involved in this standoff seem to be following one another in an endless, circuitous, spiralling dance of accusations and blame, denials and threats. The situation has already cost Ukraine dearly in  economic terms for its adamant position on its right as a sovereign nation to form alliances of its choice. The country has seen a surge in its credit default swaps on Ukrainian sovereign bonds in the expectation of the probability of defaulting.

Ukraine's largest airline, Ukraine International Airlines has experienced terminate cover for some of its aircraft on flights in Ukrainian airspace by its insurers. Not exactly a vote of confidence. In the face of which President Zelenskiy has called on his countrymen to sing the national anthem in unison on Wednesday, February 16, the date given by some Western media as the possible start of a Russian invasion.