US urges citizens in Ukraine ‘to consider departing now’: Live

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US embassy in Ukraine says situation can deteriorate with ‘little notice’ as fears of a Russian invasion grow.

The US Embassy in Ukraine urged American citizens in the country to consider departing now, saying the security situation in the country was “unpredictable due to the increased threat of Russian military action”.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s foreign minister has said Moscow’s buildup of troops near its border is “insufficient for a full-scale offensive”, a day after the embattled country’s president called for calm over the crisis.

Dmytro Kuleba told reporters the number of Russian units deployed to areas along the frontier “poses a threat to Ukraine” and added that Moscow is still capable of building up its deployments to “a sufficient level” over time.

Western powers, headed by the United States, are scrambling to respond to Moscow’s manoeuvrers.

Washington and its allies warn the Kremlin may be readying an imminent incursion, but Moscow has repeatedly stated it has no plans to attack its neighbour.

Here are all the latest updates:

51 seconds ago (18:04 GMT)

US ambassador in Moscow delivers written response to Russian concerns

The US ambassador John Sullivan in Moscow has delivered a written American response to concerns and proposals previously outlined by Russia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.

Blinken did not share the content of the document, but said that it opens the door for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

“The document we’ve delivered includes concerns of the United States and our allies and partners about Russia’s actions that undermine security, a principled and pragmatic evaluation of the concerns that Russia has raised, and our own proposals for areas where we may be able to find common ground,” Blinken told reporters at the State Department.

11 mins ago (17:54 GMT)

US diplomat says Putin likely to ‘use military force’ in Ukraine

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin may decide to use force against Ukraine by mid-February, stressing that Moscow has no legitimate reason to amass troops on its neighbour’s borders.

“We certainly see every indication that he is going to use military force some time, perhaps now and middle of February,” Sherman said.

“We all are aware that the Beijing Olympics begin on February 4th, the opening ceremony, and President Putin expects to be there. I think that probably President Xi Jinping would not be ecstatic if Putin chose that moment to invade Ukraine, so that may affect his timing and his thinking.”

Speaking virtually at an event hosted by Yalta European Strategy, Sherman said NATO is a “defensive” alliance that does not pose a threat to Russia.

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman [File: John Thys/AFP]

34 mins ago (17:31 GMT)

US fighter jets arrive in Estonia for training

Six US fighter jets arrived in Estonia to boost the NATO mission there.

The F-15E jets arrived at the Amari base in northwest Estonia to take part in an exercise along with four Danish jets due to arrive in Lithuania on Thursday.

“The additional aircraft will work closely with the current detachments to increase our readiness, build crucial interoperability and underline the robust solidarity across the Alliance,” Major General Joerg Lebert, Chief of Staff at Headquarters Allied Air Command in Germany, said in a statement.

1 hour ago (17:03 GMT)

Czechs to donate 4,000 artillery shells to Ukraine

The Czech defence ministry said it would donate four thousand artillery shells to Ukraine in the coming days.

“The gift worth 36.6 million Czech crowns (1.5 million euros, $1.7 million) was approved by the government today,” defence ministry spokesman Jakub Fajnor told AFP news agency.

The gift comprises 4,006 shells with a calibre of 152 millimetres, the defence ministry said on its website.

Ukrainian servicemen walk to their position at the frontline with with Russia-backed separatists outside Verkhnotoretske village in Yasynuvata district of Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine [File: Andriy Andriyenko/AP Photo]

1 hour ago (16:39 GMT)

Ukraine crisis requires ‘international response’: Blinken

A Russian invasion of Ukraine would threaten the “most basic principles of international relations”, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

“This crisis is much bigger than just Ukraine or even Europe. It’s a serious concern to the entire international community; it requires an international response,” Blinken said on Wednesday.

Speaking after a meeting in Washington with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser al-Mohammed, Blinken appeared to liken Russia’s posture towards Ukraine to Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, which was subsequently repelled by an US-led, international military coalition.

“Kuwait knows this, in a sense, better than anyone because at stake in Ukraine are some of the most basic principles of international relations that undergird peace and security – like the principle that one nation can’t simply change the borders of another by force,” Blinken said.

2 hours ago (16:20 GMT)

American embassy in Ukraine urges citizens to leave

The US Embassy in Ukraine urged American citizens in Ukraine to consider departing now, saying that the security situation in the country was “unpredictable due to the increased threat of Russian military action.”

The security situation in Ukraine “can deteriorate with little notice”, the embassy said on its website.

Ukrainian servicemen check the situation at the positions on a front line near the Avdiivka village, not far from pro-Russian militants controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine, 25 January 2022 [Stanislav Kozliuk/EPA]

3 hours ago (15:20 GMT)

The Ukraine-Russia crisis in infographics

As Russia and Ukraine face off, Al Jazeera has put together a series of infographics on the respective military resources of each and Moscow’s possible invasion paths, among other topics.

Take a look here.

3 hours ago (15:15 GMT)

‘A threat against Ukraine is a threat against Europe’

The European Council chief, Charles Michel, has expressed solidarity with Kyiv, saying “a threat against Ukraine is a threat against Europe”.

Michel made his remarks at a joint news conference with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger.

3 hours ago (15:00 GMT)

Russian invasion could upset China: US diplomat

Chinese President Xi Jinping will “not be ecstatic” if Russia invades Ukraine as Beijing’s Winter Olympic Games begin early next month, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has said.

During a virtual conversation hosted by Yalta European Strategy, Sherman said she did not know whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had made the decision to invade, but that there were indications an invasion could happen between now and mid-February.

“We all are aware that the Beijing Olympics are beginning on February 4th, the opening ceremony, and President Putin expects to be there. I think that probably President Xi Jinping would not be ecstatic if Putin chose that moment to invade Ukraine,” Sherman said. “So that may affect his timing and his thinking.”

3 hours ago (14:52 GMT)

‘There’s always danger’: Life on Ukraine’s front line

In eastern Ukraine, soldiers and citizens have shared with Al Jazeera their experiences of living on the front line of a simmering conflict with Russian-backed separatists. Click here to read their accounts.

3 hours ago (14:46 GMT)

Cyberattack briefly takes down Ukrainian ministry’s website

A promotional website for Ukraine’s foreign ministry has been restored, the ministry said, after unidentified hackers had briefly taken it down.

The website – Ukraine.ua – which aims to promote the country among foreigners was unavailable for several hours during the attack. The ministry gave no further details.

In mid-January, a powerful cyberattack hit about 70 internet sites of the Ukrainian government and regional bodies. It warned Ukrainians to “be afraid and expect the worst” as the country braces for a possible Russian attack.

Ukraine believes Russia was ultimately behind that cyberattack, which Moscow denies.

3 hours ago (14:35 GMT)

France ‘taking all necessary initiatives to trigger deescalation’: FM

France is fully mobilised with its European partners and the US to find ways to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said.

“The Ukraine situation is very tense but we are taking all the necessary initiatives to trigger a de-escalation process,” Le Drian told the French Senate.

4 hours ago (14:15 GMT)

Romania ready to host more NATO troops: President

Romania is in talks with the US and France over ways to enhance their troop count in the country and is ready to host an increased NATO military presence, President Klaus Iohannis has said.

“I have been constantly saying we are ready to host an increased allied presence on our territory,” Iohannis said.

4 hours ago (14:00 GMT)

Ukraine slams Berlin’s ‘purely symbolic’ helmet ‘gesture’

Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany has criticised Berlin’s promise to send 5,000 combat helmets to Ukraine as a “purely symbolic gesture”.

“It’s just a drop in the bucket. It’s not even a consolation prize,” Ambassador Andriy Melnyk told Germany’s DPA news agency. “Ukraine is expecting a 180-degree U-turn from the federal government, a true paradigm shift.”

Berlin has refused to sell weapons to Ukraine despite other NATO member states doing so.

4 hours ago (13:45 GMT)

Spanish PM warns Moscow any incursion will draw punishing sanctions

Russia will face massive economic consequences if it launches any kind of military intervention in Ukraine, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Finnish counterpart, Sanchez did not provide any details on what measures Moscow might face but warned they would be serious.

Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin meanwhile said the option of her country joining NATO must remain on the table. The Kremlin is opposed to any further eastern expansion of the military alliance.

5 hours ago (13:30 GMT)

US deploys F-15 fighter jets to Lithuania

Six US F-15 fighter jets have landed in an Estonian airbase, the Lithuanian Defence Ministry says.

The units are being deployed for a week and a half as the NATO transatlantic military alliance reinforces its eastern flank.

Denmark has said it will deploy four F-16 fighter jets to a nearby Lithuanian airbase in Siauliai on Thursday.

The US F-15s are being deployed for a week and a half as the NATO transatlantic military alliance reinforces its eastern flank [File: Mohammad Hannon/AP Photo]

5 hours ago (13:10 GMT)

Germany sends helmets to Ukraine

Germany is supplying 5,000 military helmets to Ukraine, a defence ministry spokesperson has said.

“I can confirm that we have completed an assessment in response to a request from the Ukrainian side to commit to a delivery of 5,000 military helmets,” the spokesperson told a regular government news conference. “I cannot tell you anything about the timeline yet.”

5 hours ago (12:37 GMT)

Explainer: 4 things to know about Western threats of sanctions on Russia

Washington and some of its European allies have threatened myriad sanctions against Moscow should it decide to move in on Ukraine.

To find out more about exactly what measures the West is weighing, click here.

6 hours ago (12:26 GMT)

Russia should back separatists with weapons, lawmaker says

Moscow should support two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine with certain types of weapons, Andrey Turchak, a senior member of the ruling United Russia party that backs Putin has said.

Turchak’s remarks come as Russia’s parliament is planning to hold consultations on asking Putin to formally recognise the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic in the Donbas region.

6 hours ago (12:23 GMT)

Kyiv says it can ‘keep the economy stable’ despite volatility

Ukraine’s prime minister says the country’s government has enough resources to maintain financial and economic stability amid market volatility due to fears of a potential Russian attack.

“We are not saying that there are no threats – they have existed for the last eight years; we only emphasise the fact that the government now has all the necessary resources to keep the economy stable,” Denys Shmygal told a televised government meeting.

6 hours ago (11:45 GMT)

Italy is a key partner for Moscow, Putin tells Italian executives

Putin has told Italian business executives that Italy is a key partner for Moscow as western tensions with the Kremlin over Ukraine rise.

Speaking at an online meeting, Putin also said via video link that Russia was a reliable energy supplier and that Rome was able to buy gas from Gazprom at lower prices thanks to long-term deals.

The meeting, which had drawn criticism from the Italian government, was originally set to take place in November before it was rescheduled.

6 hours ago (11:35 GMT)

Pope calls for peace in Ukraine

Pope Francis has called for peace in Ukraine while delivering an address during his weekly general audience.

“I ask you to pray for peace in Ukraine and to do it often in the course of the day,” Francis said, adding that he hoped “wounds, fears, and divisions” can be overcome.

Francis last Sunday called on people of all religions to pray on Wednesday for an end to the crisis, saying the rising tensions were threatening the security of Europe and risking vast repercussions.

7 hours ago (11:16 GMT)

Caught in the fighting while waiting for war in Ukraine

While fears rise over a potential new Russian incursion into Ukraine, swaths of territory in the latter’s east are already beset by conflict.

In the following podcast, Al Jazeera correspondent Charles Stratford travels to the Donbas to document the impact of war, and the threat of yet more conflict, on the people there.

7 hours ago (11:09 GMT)

Why can’t Europe agree on how to deal with the Ukraine crisis?

European Union leaders remain divided over how to respond to Moscow as the Russia-Ukraine crisis continues to deepen.

For an in-depth analysis of why that is the case and what the lack of unity means for the bloc’s role in the unfolding situation, read more here.

7 hours ago (10:59 GMT)

A simple guide to the Ukraine-Russia crisis

The Russia-Ukraine standoff has been marked by dizzying developments and pinball rhetoric between Moscow and the West. To help you get to grips with the crisis, Al Jazeera has a simple explainer.

Have a look here.

Russia has denied that it is planning to invade Ukraine [File: Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via Reuters]

7 hours ago (10:40 GMT)

Kyiv sees Paris talks as ‘strong signal’ towards peace, official says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff says the four-way talks in Paris are a strong signal there may be a “peaceful settlement” to the crisis.

“We have finally managed to unlock the format – and it’s a strong signal of readiness for a peaceful settlement. Hope for a constructive dialogue in [Ukraine’s] interests,” Andriy Yermak tweeted upon arriving in the French capital for the discussions.

Arrived in Paris with 🇺🇦 delegation to meet with Normandy4 leaders’ political advisers. We have finally managed to unlock the format – and it’s a strong signal of readiness for a peaceful settlement. Hope for a constructive dialogue in the 🇺🇦 interests. — Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) January 26, 2022

8 hours ago (10:29 GMT)

Italy will ‘do its part’ with NATO over Ukraine: Minister

Italy’s defence minister has said the country will uphold its NATO commitments in the Ukraine crisis.

“The Alliance has provided for a strengthening of deterrence measures on its eastern flank to which Italy is also participating in terms of operations and missions already authorised by parliament,” Lorenzo Guerini said in a statement.

“If further decisions will be taken, always within the NATO strategy of deterrence, Italy will give its further contribution and will do its part,” he added, before underlining Rome’s desire for a peaceful solution to the situation.

8 hours ago (10:10 GMT)

Kremlin warns sanctions on Putin would be ‘destructive’

The Kremlin says imposing personal sanctions on Putin, as the US has threatened to do, would have no effect and be counterproductive in efforts to lower tensions over Ukraine.

“Politically, it’s not painful, it’s destructive,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

To read more on this topic, click here.

8 hours ago (10:03 GMT)

Lavrov: No room for EU or OSCE in Ukraine talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow does not want talks over Ukraine and its own security concerns to be prolonged by including the EU or the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in them.

Addressing Russia’s State Duma, or lower house of parliament, Lavrov also reiterated Moscow’s stance that it would take unspecified “appropriate measures” if it did not receive a constructive answer from the US and NATO on security guarantees it is demanding from the West.

Russia is expecting Washington to respond to its proposals in writing this week, which include a block on Ukraine joining the US-headed transatlantic military alliance.

8 hours ago (09:45 GMT)

A US response to Russia’s security demands is ok with Kyiv, FM says

Ukraine has no objections to the US responding to Russia as part of negotiations to avert a military escalation against Ukraine, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

Addressing a briefing, Kuleba also accused Russia of trying to sow panic in Ukraine. He said Moscow had not massed enough troops for a large-scale offensive but warned that did not mean it could not do so later, adding the current risk level was high.

8 hours ago (09:35 GMT)

Normandy Format talks to resume

France and Germany have played a mediating role in the Normandy Format talks since they first began in mid-2014, shortly after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and backed a separatist uprising in the country’s east which saw rebels seize swaths of territory – areas they still hold today.

According to the DPA news agency, sources close to the French presidency said the latest round of discussions will focus on humanitarian measures as well as the possibility of holding formal negotiations over the status of the Donbas region.

9 hours ago (09:15 GMT)

Kyiv rules out talks with Russian-backed separatists

Kyiv will not hold direct talks with Russian-backed separatists in control of territories in the country’s east, according to Zelenskyy’s chief of staff.

“There have not been and will not be any direct talks with the separatists,” Yermak said in a statement on Facebook ahead of the four-way talks in Paris.

9 hours ago (09:00 GMT)

UK sanctions may target Putin directly: Foreign minister

The UK may directly target Russian President Vladimir Putin with sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine, the country’s foreign secretary has said, echoing Washington’s threat.

“We’re not ruling anything out,” Liz Truss told UK broadcaster Sky News.

“We’ll be bringing forward new legislation to make our sanctions regime tougher so we are able to target more companies and individuals in Russia. We will be bringing that forward in the next few days.”

9 hours ago (08:45 GMT)

Russian LNG vessel back in the Baltic

A huge Russian gas vessel, designed to safeguard supplies to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, has returned to the Baltic Sea region, tracking data shows.

The Refinitiv Eikon data showed the Marshal Vasilevskiy – a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) which can also act as a liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel – visited the Belgian port of Zeebrugge where it loaded 163,800 cubic metres of LNG on January 20 and is now near Kaliningrad.

The ship’s main role is to supply LNG to Kaliningrad, which is separated from Russia’s mainland and sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. The ship ensures the enclave can receive gas even if there are disruptions to pipelines running through Lithuania.

Ukraine-Russia news: troops ‘insufficient’ for full invasion

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Kyiv, Ukraine (CNN) Russia has not assembled sufficient forces to launch an imminent full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wednesday, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov threatened “appropriate response measures” if the West continues its “aggressive line.”

Kuleba told reporters in Kyiv that Russian troops could attack Ukraine at any time, as had been the case since 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, but currently would not be able to mount a full offensive.

“The number of Russian troops amassed along the border of Ukraine and in occupied territories is large, it poses a threat – a direct threat to Ukraine,” said Kuleba.

“However, as we speak this number is insufficient for a full-scale offensive along the entire Ukrainian border. They also lack some important military indicators and systems to conduct such a large full-scale offensive,” he added. “We can say 100 times a day invasion is imminent, but this doesn’t change the situation on the ground.”

Ukraine has warned that Russia is trying to destabilize the country ahead of any planned military invasion. Western powers have repeatedly warned Russia against further aggressive moves against Ukraine.

The Kremlin denies it is planning to attack and argues that NATO support for Ukraine – including increased weapons supplies and military training – constitutes a growing threat on Russia’s western flank.

Kuleba told reporters that a military invasion is not the only threat to Ukraine.

“We see a scenario of destabilization of Ukraine and that scenario is imminent, it’s already taking place – by spreading panic, by putting pressure on Ukraine’s financial system, by conducting cyber-attacks against Ukraine,” he said.

“I am certain President [Vladimir] Putin would be happy to see this plan succeed so he doesn’t even have to resort to military force to put Ukraine in an extremely vulnerable position.”

He added: “Priority number one today is to keep things under control, to be realistic in the assessment of immediate threat while not diminishing the threat of potential military invasion.”

Earlier Wednesday, Sergiy Korsunsky, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Japan, said he does not expect all-out war with Russia.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pictured addressing the State Duma on Wednesday.

“I am optimistic. I believe that full scale war is very, very, very difficult to expect but we may see more localized conflict, unfortunately,” Korsunsky said during a speech in Tokyo about Ukraine-Japan relations.

“But if it comes to military terms, let me tell you, we are very much ready. Our army is very well prepared. And you have a population which is very well motivated,” Korsunsky said.

“It is an absolute nonsense to think, as some Russian analysts say, that once we see the approaching of Russian forces, there will be uprising, there will be change in the government. No way,” he added.

A source close to the Ukrainian leadership told CNN on Tuesday that the latest military intelligence suggests Russian forces are not yet prepared to stage an imminent invasion into the country.

Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian servicemen of the Mechanized Brigade drive vehicles at an undisclosed location in the Luhansk Region, Ukraine, on January 25. Hide Caption 1 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian servicemen of the Mechanized Brigade service vehicles at an undisclosed location in the Luhansk Region, Ukraine, on January 25. Hide Caption 2 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ground crew unload weapons and other military hardware delivered by the United States at Boryspil Airport near Kyiv on January 25 in Boryspil, Ukraine. Hide Caption 3 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian serviceman of the 30th Army Brigade seen outside of Svitlodarsk, Ukraine, on January 23. Hide Caption 4 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A convoy of Russian armored vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea on Tuesday January 18. Russia has concentrated an estimated 100,000 troops with tanks and other heavy weapons near Ukraine in what the West fears could be a prelude to an invasion. Hide Caption 5 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Members of the Ukrainian military in a front line trench at Katerynivka, in the Luhansk Oblast province of eastern Ukraine on Tuesday January 18. Hide Caption 6 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Servicemen take their position in a trench at the line of separation near Yasne village, south west of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Friday January 14. Hide Caption 7 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Russian troops take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia, Tuesday, 14 December. Hide Caption 8 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman (L) and Russian deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov (R) pose for pictures as they attend security talks on soaring tensions over Ukraine at the US Permanent Mission in Geneva on January 10. Hide Caption 9 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian Military Forces servicemen strokes a cat in a trench at the front line with Russia-backed separatists near to Avdiivka, southeastern Ukraine, on January 9. Hide Caption 10 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier takes a rest near a fighting position on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on December 31, 2021. Hide Caption 11 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine President Joe Biden speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone from his private residence in Wilmington, Delaware, on Thursday December 30. Hide Caption 12 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces, the military reserve of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, holding wooden replicas of Kalashnikov rifles, take part in a military exercise near Kiev on December 25. Hide Caption 13 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, center, attends a round table as Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, left, greets Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin, right, at an Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels with the Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border as the main point of focus on Wednesday, December 15. Hide Caption 14 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Russian tank seen during a military drill at Molkino training ground in the Krasnodar region on Tuesday, December 14. Hide Caption 15 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Russian serviceman looks through binoculars as he takes part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range on Tuesday, December 14. Hide Caption 16 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian serviceman walks out of a dugout on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near the village of Pesky, Donetsk region, on December 14. Hide Caption 17 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers walk toward a destroyed building in Marinka on December 8. Hide Caption 18 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers talk and drink tea in in Marinka on December 8. Hide Caption 19 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A destroyed police impound yard is seen in Marinka on December 8. Hide Caption 20 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers wait in a building near the front line in Marinka on December 8. Hide Caption 21 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Students play while waiting for the bus after school in Krasnohorivka, Ukraine, on December 8. Hide Caption 22 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with US President Joe Biden via video conference to discuss the escalating tensions on Tuesday, December 7. Hide Caption 23 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier rests near a fighting position on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels near Katerinivka, Ukraine, on December 7. Hide Caption 24 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers walk near Katerinivka on December 7. Hide Caption 25 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine In this handout photo from the Ukrainian Presidency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the front line in Donbass, Ukraine, on Monday, December 6. Hide Caption 26 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier cooks in a shelter near Debaltsevo, Ukraine, on Friday, December 3. Hide Caption 27 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier looks out from a fighting position on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels near Debaltsevo on December 3. Hide Caption 28 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers walk in a trench along the front line in Avdiika, Ukraine, on Thursday, December 2. Hide Caption 29 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier checks the situation near Svetlodarsk, Ukraine, on December 2. Hide Caption 30 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier enters a building in Avdiivka, Ukraine, on Wednesday, December 1. Hide Caption 31 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier’s mud-covered boots are seen at a front-line position in the industrial zone of Avdiivka on December 1. Hide Caption 32 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers are seen at a base built into the skeletal remains of a tire factory in Avdiivka on December 1. Hide Caption 33 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers relax in their barracks in Avdiivka on December 1. Hide Caption 34 of 35 Photos: Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine This satellite image shows Russian troops in Yelna, Russia, on November 9. Satellite photos taken that month revealed Russian hardware – including self-propelled guns, battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles – on the move at a training ground roughly 186 miles (300 km) from the border. Hide Caption 35 of 35

Russia will not allow ’endless discussion,’ says foreign minister

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed the country’s State Duma on Wednesday and repeated his desire for assurances from the US regarding security measures.

Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Geneva, Switzerland, on January 21, and Russia has submitted “concrete requests,” he said.

Russia has asked the US and NATO for certain security guarantees, including binding pledges that NATO won’t admit Ukraine or expand further east.

A US response is “expected this week,” said Lavrov on Wednesday.

“We will not allow any attempts to wind up our initiative in endless discussion,” he added. “If there won’t be any constructive response and the West will continue its aggressive line, then as the President said multiple times, Moscow will take appropriate response measures.”

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin spoke with Italian businesspeople via video link on Wednesday.

‘It will not be easy’ for Russia if they invade, says top US diplomat

Later on Wednesday, officials from the Biden administration said they could send a response as soon as that day.

But the US is unlikely to characterize the likelihood of Ukraine joining NATO in the short term or show any room for negotiation on NATO’s open-door policy – Putin’s central grievance – when they present Russia with a written response, said officials.

Instead the proposal will lay out general areas where the US is willing to work with Russia, which US officials have already identified: arms control, greater transparency, risk reduction and the placement of missile systems.

The purpose of providing the response in written form – a demand Russia has made since they put written ideas forward in December – is to fuel the diplomacy the US hopes will deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine, State Department officials said.

“We’re taking this step by step, but we don’t want to be the ones to foreclose the possible diplomatic solution,” a senior State Department official told reporters after the meeting in Geneva.

Blinken said in Geneva that US and Russian officials would meet again after the written proposal was sent to Russia.

Later on Wednesday Kristina Kvien, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, told CNN’s Sam Kiley that arms shipped to the country on Wednesday are ready to be deployed.

“We are trying to make it very clear to Russia that if they go in, it will not be easy,” said Kvien, the US chargé d’affaires.

The 300 Javelin anti-tank missiles, 800 bunker-busting bombs and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition delivered by the US “can be deployed immediately,” she added. “They can be deployed to the border.”

Kvien also warned Putin to expect stiff resistance from Ukrainians if Russia does invade.

“I have been here over two-and-a-half years,” she said. “I can tell you, Ukrainians will fight. They are patriotic, they will stand and fight.”

Moscow also risks being made “an international pariah” if it invades its neighbor, she added.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily a legacy you want to leave,” she said of President Putin.

U.S. sends written responses to Russia on its demands over Ukraine crisis

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The Biden administration is “prepared to implement sanctions with massive consequences that were not considered in 2014,” when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday. The “top of the escalation ladder” could involve using an export control that would cripple parts of Russian technology and aerospace industries, while depriving Russians of some technology consumer goods, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the White House. Such a measure has been used only once, against the Chinese tech company Huawei.

Russia says US gives written response on Ukraine demands

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In this photo taken from video and released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, the Russian navy’s frigate Admiral Essen prepares to sail off for an exercise in the Black Sea. Russia has launched a series of drills amid the tensions over Ukraine and deployed an estimated 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian territory that fueled Western fears of an invasion. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — The United States on Wednesday delivered a written response to the Kremlin’s security demands on Ukraine and NATO amid soaring tensions that Moscow is planning to invade its neighbor, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

U.S. Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan handed over the response to Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

The U.S. hasn’t made its response public, but already has warned that Russia’s top demands are unacceptable.

Moscow has demanded guarantees that NATO will never admit the country and other ex-Soviet nations as members and that the alliance will roll back troop deployments in other former Soviet bloc nations. Some of these, like the membership pledge, are nonstarters for NATO, creating a seemingly intractable stalemate that many fear can only end in a war.

Russia has warned it would quickly take “retaliatory measures” if the U.S. and its allies reject its demands.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied it has any such designs, but the U.S. and its NATO allies are worried about Russia deploying an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine and launching a series of sweeping military maneuvers.

As part of the drills, motorized infantry and artillery units in southwestern Russia practiced firing live ammunition, warplanes in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea performed bombing runs, dozens of warships sailed for training exercises in the Black Sea and the Arctic, and Russian fighter jets and paratroopers arrived in Belarus for joint war games.

At stake is the future of Ukraine: Russia has demanded guarantees that NATO will never admit the country and other ex-Soviet nations as members and that the alliance will roll back troop deployments in other former Soviet bloc nations. Some of these, like the membership pledge, are nonstarters for NATO, creating a seemingly intractable stalemate that many fear can only end in a war.

Speaking to lawmakers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he and other top officials will advise President Vladimir Putin on the next steps after receiving written replies from the United States to the demands. Those answers are expected this week — even though the U.S. and its allies have already made clear they will reject Russia’s top demands.

“If the West continues its aggressive course, Moscow will take the necessary retaliatory measures,” Lavrov said.

But he indicated Russia wouldn’t wait forever. “We won’t allow our proposals to be drowned in endless discussions,” he said.

He mocked fears of an imminent invasion, saying that “our Western colleagues have driven themselves up into a militarist frenzy,” adding sardonically that “the Ukrainian elite itself has grown a bit scared by the Western scare.”

Asked by lawmakers if Russia could expand military cooperation with Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua as part of its retaliatory measures, Lavrov responded that Moscow has close ties with those countries in the Western Hemisphere and is seeking to deepen them. He noted Putin spoke by phone with the three nations’ leaders last week and they agreed to “consider ways of further deepening our strategic cooperation.”

Earlier this month, Lavrov’s deputy pointedly refused to rule out the deployment of Russian military assets to Cuba and Venezuela if Moscow’s security demands aren’t met.

The countries’ defense ministries were planning more contacts to bolster military cooperation, Russia’s ambassador to Cuba Andrei Guskov told the Interfax news agency.

NATO said this week it was bolstering its deterrence in the Baltic Sea region and the U.S. ordered 8,500 troops on higher alert for potential deployment to Europe. Western nations have also sent planeloads of weapons to help Ukraine strengthen its defenses.

Amid the escalating tensions, Ukrainian officials have sought to calm nerves .

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that while the concentration of Russian troops near Ukraine poses a threat, “their number is now insufficient for a large-scale offensive.”

“They are still missing some key military elements and systems to mount a big, full-scale offensive,” Kuleba told reporters.

As others have pointed out, he noted that causing alarm could be an end in itself. Russia, he said, hopes to destabilize Ukraine by “spreading panic, raising pressure on Ukraine’s financial system and launching cyberattacks.”

“President Putin would be happy to see that plan succeed so that he doesn’t even need to turn to military force to put Ukraine in a vulnerable position,” he said.

His comments were latest from Ukrainian officials seeking to reassure their citizens. Speaking late Tuesday in speech to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “strong enough to keep everything under control and derail any attempts at destabilization.”

Amid the tensions, the U.S., Britain, Australia, Germany and Canada have moved to withdraw some of their diplomats and dependents from Kyiv, a move that Zelenskyy sought to play down Tuesday as part of a “complex diplomatic game.”

On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv urged all U.S. citizens visiting Ukraine to consider leaving the country now, pointing out that the security situation “continues to be unpredictable due to the increased threat of Russian military action and can deteriorate with little notice.”

Several rounds of high-stakes diplomacy have failed to yield any breakthroughs, but another attempt was going forward Wednesday.

Presidential advisers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany were in Paris to discuss ways to revive a stalled peace agreement for eastern Ukraine .

In 2014, following the ouster of a Kremlin-friendly president in Kyiv, Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in the country’s eastern industrial heartland. Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels has killed over 14,000 people, and efforts to reach a settlement have stalled.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow expects a “good frank” talk at the Paris meeting.

Russia accuses Ukraine of planning to retake the areas controlled by the rebels — something Kyiv denies. On Wednesday, Lavrov again alleged the West is encouraging Ukraine to launch an offensive and rejected talk about an imminent Russian invasion as “hysterics.”

Andrei Turchak, head of the Kremlin’s main political party, United Russia, suggested that Moscow respond to the delivery of Western weapons to Ukraine by sending munitions to the rebels. Since the start of the conflict, Russia has been accused of sending troops and weapons to the separatists, something it has denied.

The U.S. and its allies also have threatened harsh sanctions if Moscow sends its troops into Ukraine, but they have given few details.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin “continues to build forces along Ukraine’s border,” and an attack “would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.” He warned that there would be serious economic consequences for Putin, including personal sanctions, in the event of an invasion.

Asked to comment on Biden’s statement, Peskov pointed out that Putin and other top officials don’t have assets in the West but reaffirmed that such U.S. sanctions would be “politically destructive” for bilateral ties.

Britain also promised sanctions, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has urged European nations to do more to support Ukraine. The U.K. has sent anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, though it has ruled out sending combat troops.

“We’ll be legislating to toughen up our sanctions regime and make sure we are fully able to hit both individuals and companies and banks in Russia in the event of an incursion,” she told the BBC. “What’s important is that all of our allies do the same.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed at a meeting with her Dutch counterpart in Berlin that the European Union’s goal “is and remains the defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“Any further aggression by Russia against Ukraine would have serious consequences. Politically, strategically, and equally economically and financially,” Baerbock said.

Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed.

The West fears Russia is about to attack Ukraine. But that’s not the way Russians are seeing it on TV

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(CNN) Foreign forces bristling with weapons are rolling toward the Ukrainian border. Reconnaissance planes streak overhead. Rumors of “false flag” operations run rampant.

If you’re watching state TV in Moscow, you’re seeing video of troops and tanks, barbed wire and snipers taking aim, but it’s not Russia’s forces that are poised for attack – it’s NATO’s.

Welcome to Russia’s mirror-image depiction of the showdown over Ukraine. In the country’s alternate media landscape, NATO forces are carrying out a plan that’s been in the works for years: Encircle Russia, topple President Vladimir Putin and seize control of Russia’s energy resources.

In Moscow’s view, repeated in nearly every newscast and talk show, Ukraine is a failed state entirely controlled by the “puppet master” – the United States. Europe is a weak and divided collection of lap dogs taking orders from Washington. Even the US, as frighteningly threatening as it is, is weak and divided too, torn apart by political division and racial unrest.

But wait. How can those powers be a threat – and be weak at the same time? That’s one of the conundrums of Russian state propaganda. Thinking things through isn’t what they’re trying to encourage. Rather they’re trying to raise the blood pressure of their viewers – and to make them very afraid.