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Ukraine pressure case and Idlib clashes, 5 February 2020
Summary
A look back at how Ukraine featured in a Senate debate over censure, as fighting in Idlib drew Turkey and Russia into open disagreement.
What did a dispute over Ukraine look like in Washington on 5 February 2020, the day of the Senate's impeachment trial of Donald Trump? Two days earlier, on 3 February 2020, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin had asked colleagues to consider censuring Trump as an alternative to impeachment, over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate domestic political rivals. Manchin was considered friendly with the White House.
The same day, a separate crisis was escalating in north-western Syria. Syrian Army shelling killed Turkish military personnel in Idlib Governorate, and Turkish forces retaliated. A pro-opposition war monitor said the retaliation killed 13 Syrian soldiers; Syria denied this.
Turkish President Erdoğan said the shelling killed five Turkish soldiers and three civilian personnel, and injured nine others. He said the Russians needed to stand aside. The Russian Ministry of Defence said Turkey had moved troops inside the de-escalation zone without notifying the Russian side.
Together, the two stories showed a region and a transatlantic debate under strain, with Kyiv's name at the centre of one and Moscow's role at the centre of the other.
