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PremiumThe U.S. has told allies that any Russian invasion could target multiple cities beyond the capital Kyiv, according to people familiar with the matter. Russia has repeatedly denied it plans an invasion of Ukraine, calling such claims propaganda and “hysteria."
Putin calls eastern Ukraine ancient Russian lands. He says situation in eastern Ukraine is critical again.
“Ukraine authorities have been contaminated by virus of nationalism and corruption," he said during a televised address. The President accuses Ukraine of stealing Russian gas in the past, of using energy to blackmail Russia.
"Ukraine leaders wanted all good things from Russia without obligations."
He accused the western intelligence services of helping Ukraine commit crimes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will recognise the independence of eastern Ukraine's separatist republics, the Kremlin said in a statement Monday, adding that he had informed the French and German leaders of his decision, AFP report said.
"In the near future, the president plans to sign the order," the Kremlin said. It added that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had "expressed disappointment" over the decision in phone calls with Putin.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned remarks by President Vladimir Putin that Russia could recognise two Kremlin-backed breakaway Ukrainian regions as independent, his office said on Monday, Reuters report said
Scholz's office said in a statement the German chancellor also told Putin during a phone call that any such move would amount to a "one-sided breach" of the Minsk agreements designed to end a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian leader President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he had convened his top military and security aides after senior Russian officials urged President Vladimir Putin to recognise two breakaway Ukrainian republics.
"Given the statements made at the meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I held urgent consultations with Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz and convened the National Security and Defence Council," Zelensky tweeted.
Two Ukrainian soldiers died Monday and three received wounds in a shelling attack on a frontline village that came with fears rising of a nearing Russian invasion of its western neighbour, an AFP report said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin to make televised address soon.
A Ukrainian civilian died on Monday in a shelling attack on a government-held village, officials said, with the incident coming as fears were rising of an imminent Russian invasion.
Local officials said the civilian was killed in an attack on Novoluganske, a settlement 35 kilometres (25 miles) north of the eastern rebel stronghold Donetsk.
President Vladimir Putin said he would make a decision "today" on recognising the independence of east Ukraine's rebel republics, after Russia's top officials made impassioned speeches in favour of the move at an unscheduled Kremlin security council meeting Monday.
"I have heard your opinions. The decision will be taken today," the Russian leader said after the conclusion of the meeting, which was not live but aired on state television.
Ukraine on Monday requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to address the threat of a Russian invasion, citing security assurances it received in return for giving up its nuclear arsenal in 1994.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Moscow was considering recognising the independence of east Ukraine's two separatist republics, a step that would further escalate the Ukraine crisis. The rebel leaders of Donetsk and Lugansk made a coordinated appeal to Putin for Moscow to recognise them earlier on Monday.
President Vladimir Putin said Monday that tensions with the West over Ukraine posed a looming threat to Moscow, as the West warns that Russia is preparing to invade its ex-Soviet neighbour.
"The use of Ukraine as an instrument of confrontation with our country poses a serious, very big threat to us," Putin said during an unscheduled meeting of the Russian security council, adding that Moscow's priority was "not confrontation, but security".
Russian stocks fell around 10 percent on Monday as the Ukraine crisis escalated sharply, with Moscow announcing it had killed Ukrainian "saboteurs" on its territory and dampened hopes for a summit with Washington.
At the Moscow Stock Exchange, the dollar-denominated RTS index was down 10.4 percent at around 1130 GMT and the IMoex (in rubles) fell 8 percent.
Putin and held another telephone conversation regarding Ukraine in the early hours of Monday morning, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"A telephone conversation between the leaders of Russia and France, the second in one day, was initiated by President Macron at about 1:00 am," he said. "The presidents continued to discuss the situation around Ukraine," Peskov added.
Here is a look at the latest developments in the security crisis in Eastern Europe:
WILL BIDEN AND PUTIN MEET?
The U.S. and Russian presidents have tentatively agreed to meet in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to stave off Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Yet but both seem cautious about a possible meeting.
WHAT'S THE SITUATION ON THE UKRAINE’S EASTERN FRONT?
Heavy shelling has increased in recent days along the tense line of contact between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatist rebels in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of Donbas.
RUSSIAN TROOPS STAY IN BELARUS, ADDING TO FEARS
Russian troops who have been carrying out military exercises in Belarus, which is located on Ukraine's northern border, were supposed to go home when those war games ended Sunday. But now Moscow and Minsk announced that the Russian troops are staying indefinitely.
The continued deployment of the Russian forces in Belarus raised concerns that Russia could send those troops to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a city of 3 million less than a three-hour drive away from the Belarus border.
UKRAINE PROJECTS CALM
Despite Biden’s assertion that Putin has made the decision to roll Russian forces into Ukraine, Ukrainian officials sought to project calm, saying that they aren’t seeing an invasion as imminent.
EU OFFERS TO ADVISE UKRAINE
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday that the European Union has agreed to set up a military education advisory mission in his country.
THE LATEST BRITISH WARNING
U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is warning that an invasion of Ukraine appears likely and that her country is preparing.
“Diplomacy must be pursued but a Russian invasion of Ukraine looks highly likely. The U.K. and allies are stepping up preparations for the worst-case scenario. We must make the cost for Russia intolerably high," she wrote on Twitter.
With all eyes on a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending his top security envoy to the Balkans where Moscow has been trying to maintain influence mainly through its ally Serbia, according to reports.
The Russian military said Monday that it had killed five "saboteurs" who crossed from Ukrainian territory, the latest claim fuelling tensions along Moscow's border with Ukraine.
"As a result of clashes, five people who violated the Russian border from a group of saboteurs were killed," the military said in a statement, adding the incident occurred near the village of Mityakinskaya in the Rostov region at 06:00 am (0300 GMT).
Ukrainian authorities said they had seen online warnings that hackers were preparing to launch major attacks on government agencies, banks and the defence sector on Tuesday.
Ukraine has suffered a string of cyberattacks in recent weeks which Kyiv has blamed on Russia. Moscow, which is caught up in a mounting confrontation with the West over Ukraine, has denied any involvement.
The EU will not impose sanctions on Russia just yet, the bloc's foreign policy chief said on Monday, rebuffing a call from Kyiv to take such steps now to avert a war rather than wait until after any possible Russian invasion.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone later Monday in a further effort to ease tensions over Ukraine, the German government spokesman said.
Steffen Hebestreit said the planned call "this afternoon" had been "closely coordinated" with French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke to Putin on Sunday.
He said the talks were part of "joint diplomatic efforts" by the West to "prevent a catastrophe" in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military on Monday denied shelling a border facility used by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), calling Moscow's claim "fake news".
"We couldn't stop them producing this fake news, but we always emphasise that we do not shoot at civilian infrastructure, or into some territory in the Rostov region or whatever," Ukrainian military spokesman Pavlo Kovalchuk told reporters.
French flag-carrier Air France said Monday it was cancelling its flights to and from Kyiv scheduled on Tuesday over security concerns sparked by the Russian troop build-up on Ukraine's border.
Air France, which currently runs return Paris to Kyiv flights on Tuesdays and Sundays, said that the move was a "precautionary measure" and the company would be "regularly re-evaluating the situation".
European stocks fluctuated as traders questioned the prospects for a diplomatic meeting between President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Moscow says shell fired from Ukraine destroys Russian border facility.
The European Union must start imposing some sanctions on Russia now to show it is serious about wanting to prevent a war in Ukraine, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said as he arrived in Brussels to meet the bloc's foreign ministers.
US stock index futures rallied, the euro rose and global stocks steadied on Monday as a glimmer of hope emerged for a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine standoff.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to hold a summit on the Ukraine crisis.
The Kremlin said there were no concrete plans in place for a summit, but that a call or meeting could be set up at any time.
Belarus today said the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory would depend to a large extent on NATO pulling back its forces from near Belarus and Russia, opening up the possibility they could remain there indefinitely. Russia deployed what NATO called its biggest military force to Belarus since the Cold War ended for joint exercises that started on Feb. 10, part of a wider buildup near Ukraine that has fuelled fears of a looming war.
The Kremlin said Monday that there is no concrete plans yet for a Putin-Biden meeting.
Ukraine's foreign minister on Monday welcomed a French initiative for a summit between US President Joe Biden and Russia's Vladimir Putin, saying Kyiv hoped it would result in Moscow pulling back its troops.
"We welcome this initiative. We believe that every effort aimed a diplomatic solution is worth trying," Dmytro Kuleba said ahead of a meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels.
"We hope that the two presidents will walk out from the room with an agreement about Russia withdrawing its forces from Ukraine."
Nasdaq 100, S&P 500 and European contracts erased falls to climb about 1%, while an Asia-Pacific equity index came off its lows but stayed in the red. Markets are being whipsawed by Russia’s troop buildup near Ukraine and efforts at diplomacy to bring both sides back from the brink of war.
US President Joe Biden plans to discuss the Ukraine crisis with G7 leaders during a virtual meeting on Thursday, the White House informs.
"The President will participate in a virtual G7 Leaders' meeting to discuss the ongoing situation with regard to Russia and Ukraine, and priorities of the German G7 Presidency year," the White House schedule for February 24 says.
The Russian rouble clipped a one-week low on Monday before firming past 77 against the dollar as investors digested the weekend's developments over Ukraine, with renewed hopes that diplomatic efforts may yield results.
Oil gave up early gains in Asia, along with gold, after the U.S. and Russian presidents agreed to a summit meeting over Ukraine.
West Texas Intermediate plunged as much as 0.8%, reversing a more than 2% advance, after Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to a proposal for a summit meeting from French President Emmanuel Macron. Earlier, the U.S. told allies that any Russian invasion would potentially see it target multiple cities beyond the capital, Kyiv. Moscow, which has repeatedly denied it plans an invasion, said over the weekend that its forces would remain in Belarus indefinitely.
Gold prices fell from a more than eight-month high hit earlier on Monday, as safe-haven demand eased after the U.S. president agreed to meet his Russian counterpart over the Ukraine crisis.
US President Joe Biden has agreed “in principle" to a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin as long as that country holds off on what US officials believe is an imminent assault on Ukraine.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration has been clear that “we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins."
In a statement, Psaki said: “We are always ready for diplomacy. We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences should Russia instead choose war. And currently, Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine very soon."
U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to hold a summit on the Ukraine crisis, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke for an hour late on Sunday evening in their second conversation of the day, the French presidency said.
The two leaders had already held a nearly two-hour-long phone conversation on Sunday as part of a series of discussions between heads of state to try to avoid a major conflict in Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia called for intensified diplomatic efforts Sunday to avert all-out war, each blaming the other for a sharp escalation in shelling on the front line separating Kyiv's forces from Moscow-backed separatists.
After separate calls with France's President Emmanuel Macron, both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky pressed for more talks.
Russia on Sunday rescinded earlier pledges to pull tens of thousands of its troops back from Ukraine's northern border, a move that US leaders said put Russia another step closer to launching what they said was the planned invasion of Ukraine.
Residents of Ukraine's capital filled a gold-domed cathedral to pray for peace.
U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed on a call on Sunday the "ongoing diplomacy and deterrence efforts" over Russia's military build-up near Ukraine, the White House said.
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