Ukraine

Russia is a sending an unspecified number of troops from the country's far east to Belarus for major war games, officials said Tuesday, a deployment that will further beef up Russian military assets near Ukraine amid Western fears of a planned invasion.

NATO on Monday inked a deal to bolster its cyber support for Ukraine, after a sweeping hacking attack against Kyiv heightened tensions amid fears that Russia could be plotting an invasion.

Efforts to de-escalate tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border shift Thursday to Vienna and a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Permanent Council. The session follows a bilateral meeting between Russia and the United States in Geneva on Monday and talks Wednesday in Brussels between Russia and NATO.

The US and its allies sat down with Russian envoys amid heightened tensions over Russia's troop buildup near Ukraine. While no gaps were bridged, NATO said it was ready for more talks with Moscow.

A Nato official confirmed on Tuesday that secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has scheduled a special meeting with allied ambassadors and Russian diplomats on 12 January in Brussels, Reuters reported. The meeting will take place amid tensions over Russia's military build-up around Ukraine.

EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell vowed the bloc’s full support for Ukraine Wednesday (5 January) as he visited the country’s war-torn east just ahead of a flurry of talks between Western and Russian officials on the crisis, in which the EU had been largely left out. Borrell’s visit was the first-ever visit by an EU foreign policy chief to eastern Ukraine since war broke out nearly eight years ago.

The United States and Germany reaffirmed their steadfast support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity on Wednesday, warning of "massive" and "severe consequences" if Russia invades neighboring Ukraine. The renewed warning comes days ahead of scheduled U.S.-Russia talks in Geneva next week.

President Vladimir Putin warned Tuesday that Russia was prepared to take military steps in response to “unfriendly” Western actions over the Ukraine conflict, in a sharp escalation of rhetoric. He also called for “serious negotiations” on Russian security demands put to the United States and NATO during his first call with new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who in turn called for “de-escalation.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told European Union leaders that Ukraine is ready for talks with Russia in any format but urged Western countries to keep pressure on Moscow through sanctions.

US President Joe Biden warned President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday of “strong” Western economic blowback against any Russian attack on Ukraine, while the Kremlin leader demanded guarantees that the NATO alliance keep clear of Russia.