The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine:
* U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will have a telephone conversation Saturday amid growing concerns that Russia is planning an imminent invasion of Ukraine, possibly as early as Wednesday.
* The U.S. is evacuating its embassy in Kyiv.
* U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone Saturday. Blinken said “a diplomatic path to resolving the crisis remained open, but it would require Moscow to deescalate and engage in good-faith discussions.”
* The U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory warning Americans to get out of Ukraine and to avoid travel to the country.
* U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin “at any time,” including during the Winter Olympics in China, which end February 20. He urged Americans to leave Ukraine within the next 24 to 48 hours.
* U.S. President Joe Biden took part in a video call Friday with leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Britain, NATO, the European Union and the European Council. The leaders expressed their “readiness to impose massive consequences” on Russia “should it choose military escalation,” according to a White House statement.
* A senior U.S. defense official told reporters that Biden has ordered 3,000 more soldiers to Poland in addition to the 1,700 already headed there. The Pentagon said the troops are being deployed to reassure NATO allies and deter any potential aggression against NATO’s eastern flank.
* U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday “to reaffirm the United States’ robust support for Ukraine.” Earlier in the day, he warned that Russian could attack Ukraine at “any time.”
* The comments by U.S. officials led to the biggest drop in Russia’s ruble in nearly two years. The ruble was down 2.8% Friday, set for its largest daily percentage drop against the dollar since March 2020.
* The West is demanding that Russia pull its troops and weapons from Ukraine’s border, while Moscow is pushing for NATO to curtail its operations in Eastern and central Europe. Russia also maintains that the Western defensive alliance should reject Ukraine’s NATO membership bid, a move the United States calls a “non-starter.”
SOURCE:https://www.voanews.com/a/ukraine-what-we-know-/6403165.html
