The United States continues to warn that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day” amid escalating tensions in the region, with President Joe Biden telling reporters Friday he’s “convinced” Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade.
More diplomacy seemed possible, though, with Biden agreeing “in principle” Sunday to meet with Putin, as long as Russia didn’t invade, but the Kremlin on Monday said talk of a summit was “premature.”
On Monday, Putin said he would decide by the end of the day whether to recognize Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, which the U.S. said he could use as a pretext for an invasion.
While the U.S. says some 190,000 Russian troops and separatist forces are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders, Russia has denied any plans to invade and reiterated its demands that the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the military alliance.
Latest headlines:
- Putin told France, Germany he intends to sign decree recognizing separatist regions: Kremlin
- Putin says he’ll decide today whether to recognize Russian-controlled separatist regions
- Likelihood of diplomatic solution ‘diminishing hour by hour’
- Talk of Biden-Putin summit ‘premature,’ Kremlin says
- US alleges Russia making list of Ukrainians ‘to be killed or sent to camps’
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