Russia-Ukraine news Updates: NATO looking to 'further strengthen' eastern flank, says chief

Russia said Wednesday it was returning more troops and weapons to bases, yet another gesture apparently aimed at easing fears it is planning to invade Ukraine, even as the U.S. said the threat of an attack remained.

Russia has massed about 150,000 troops east, north and south of Ukraine, sparking Western concerns it was planning an assault. There have been no indications of a significant withdrawal of those forces, but this week has seen a handful of gestures from Moscow that offered hope that Europe might avoid war following weeks of escalating East-West tensions - AP News

Embassy of India in Kyiv issued advisory on February 15 for Indians in Ukraine. Embassy continues to monitor developments. We are aware that many Indian students are presently in Ukraine and their families are anxious about their wards, particularly about getting flights to India. Discussions are underway with civil aviation authorities and various airlines on how to increase number of flights between India and Ukraine. Control Rooms in Embassy as well as in MEA are being setup to respond to queries of Indian nationals in Ukraine and their families in India, said Sources. 

A convoy with military equipment of the Russian Southern Military District units crossed the Crimean bridge on the way to the places of permanent deployment following the planned drills in Crimea, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday."The units of the Southern Military District, which have completed participation in tactical exercises at the test sites of the Crimean Peninsula, are heading to the points of permanent disposition by rail. The personnel of the unit conducted the loading of caterpillar-tracked armored vehicles -- tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and self-propelled artillery weapons on railway platforms at entraining stations," the ministry said in a statement, reported Sputnik. Furthermore, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that some of the troops gathered around Ukraine are being sent back to their bases. However, other drills, including in Belarus and off Ukraine's Black Sea coast, were continuing.On this US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that Washington is ready to respond decisively to the Russian attack on Ukraine. "We are ready to respond decisively to the Russian attack on Ukraine which is still very much a possibility," Biden said in remarks at the White House.

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The US is ready to respond "decisively" to a Russian attack on Ukraine which is still very much a possibility, President Joe Biden has said, urging Moscow to step back from the brink of war. Providing an update on the crisis involving Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, Biden said the United States was prepared no matter what happens. "We are ready with diplomacy — to be engaged in diplomacy with Russia and our Allies and partners to improve stability and security in Europe as a whole. And we are ready to respond decisively to a Russian attack on Ukraine, which is still very much a possibility," he said. "An invasion remains distinctly possible. That’s why I’ve asked several times that all Americans in Ukraine leave now before it’s too late to leave safely. It is why we have temporarily relocated our embassy from Kyiv to Lviv in western Ukraine, approaching the Polish border," Biden said as his Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin left for a trip to the region amidst an escalating crisis in Europe. Biden said the US is still open for diplomacy to resolve the issue while stressing that more than 150,000 Russian troops remain on the Ukrainian border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that he welcomed a security dialogue with the West, and his military reported pulling back some of its troops near Ukraine. But U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. had not verified Russia’s claim and that an invasion was still a distinct possibility. Putin said he does not want war and would rely on negotiations in his efforts to eliminate any chance that Ukraine could one day join NATO. At the same time, he did not commit to a full pullback of troops, saying Russia’s next moves in the standoff will depend on how the situation evolves. In remarks at the White House, Biden promised that the U.S. would continue to give diplomacy “every chance” to prevent a Russian invasion, but he struck a skeptical tone about Moscow’s intentions. Biden also insisted that the U.S. and its allies would not “sacrifice basic principles” respecting Ukraine sovereignty.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has suffered a major cyber attack that prevented users from accessing its website, amid heightened tensions with Russia. Two Ukrainian banks also lost access to online banking services, according to the government. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said that its website was hit with a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. "The website was probably attacked by DDoS: an excessive number of requests per second was recorded. Technical works on restoration of regular functioning are carried out. Communication through FB and Twitter pages," the ministry tweeted late on Tuesday. The DDoS attack sends multiple requests to the attacked web resource -- with the aim of exceeding the website's capacity to handle multiple requests, and prevent the website from functioning correctly.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday held wide-ranging discussions with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama of mutual interests, including concerns over the Ukraine situation, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.Earlier in the day, President Joe Biden at a presser said it would be "good" if reports are true that Russia pulled some troops from the Ukraine border. He said the US is ready to engage in diplomacy with Russia but also claimed that an invasion is still possible."Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met today with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Washington, DC," Price said in a press release on Tuesday. "The Secretary noted our strong cooperation at NATO and on the UN Security Council, and thanked Prime Minister Rama for Albania's clear support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian aggression," added Price.

European Union embassies in Ukraine remain operational, said the EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas.

"Full support to Ukraine in this situation of the military, economic, and psychological pressure," Maasikas was quoted as saying by the Ukrainian National News Agency, adding that "all EU member states' embassies continue to operate."

On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced that the US would temporarily relocate its embassy in Ukraine from the capital Kiev to the western city of Lviv, citing escalating tensions on Ukraine's borders, Xinhua news agency reported.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said the United States is still pursuing a diplomatic solution to the current standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine, meanwhile warning Russia of severe sanctions should it choose to invade its neighbor.

In televised remarks delivered from the White House on the evolving situation on Ukraine's borders, Biden said his country is prepared "to engage in diplomacy with Russia and our allies and partners to improve stability and security in Europe as a whole", Xinhua news agency reported.

He asserted that "if Russia chooses to invade Ukraine, the West will respond decisively."

Biden said he agrees with a proposal from the Russian government to continue diplomatic negotiations, adding "we should give diplomacy every chance to succeed."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Russia's security concerns during a phone conversation, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said in a statement.

Lavrov stressed the necessity of continuing the efforts, as agreed upon by President Vladimir Putin and President Joe Biden, to cooperate on Russia's security proposals submitted to the US and the NATO, Xinhua news agency reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he welcomed a security dialogue with the West as his military reported pulling back some of its troops near Ukraine — signals that may indicate the Kremlin has opted for a diplomatic path for now despite Western fears of an imminent Russian invasion of its neighbour.

Putin said he doesn't want war and would rely on negotiations as he presses his demand for the West to halt Ukraine's bid to join NATO. At the same time, he didn't commit to a full pullback of troops, saying Russia's next moves in the standoff will depend on how the situation evolves.

While the overtures soothed global markets that have been on edge amid the worst East-West tensions in decades, Washington and its European allies remained cautious, saying they want to see evidence of a Russian pullback.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday said the US has “not yet verified" Russia's claim that some of its forces have withdrawn from the Ukraine border and said an invasion of Ukraine remains a distinct possibility.

Biden made the remarks at the White House hours after Russia announced that some units participating in military exercises near Ukraine's borders would begin returning to their bases.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Tuesday said Russia was ready for talks with the United States and NATO on military transparency, missile deployment limits and other security issues.

But Biden continued to express skepticism about Russia's intentions. Biden warned again that if Russia invades Ukraine the US “will rally the world to oppose its aggression."

A Russian invasion of Ukraine remains a distinct possibility, said US President Joe Biden as his Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin lefty for a trip to the region amidst an escalating crisis in Europe.

Stating that any such move by Russian President Vladimir Putin will prove to be a "self-inflicted wound", Biden warned Moscow that the US and its allies will respond "decisively".

Biden said the US is still open for diplomacy to resolve the issue while stressing that more than 150,000 Russian troops remain on the Ukrainian border.

U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday accused a conservative financial news website with a significant American readership of amplifying Kremlin propaganda and alleged five media outlets targeting Ukrainians have taken direction from Russian spies.

The officials said Zero Hedge, which has 1.2 million Twitter followers, published articles created by Moscow-controlled media that were then shared by outlets and people unaware of their nexus to Russian intelligence. The officials did not say whether they thought Zero Hedge knew of any links to spy agencies and did not allege direct links between the website and Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow is ready for talks with the U.S. and NATO on limits for missile deployments and military transparency, in a new sign of easing East-West tensions. The statement came after Russia announced it is pulling back some troops from exercises that have raised fears of a potential invasion of Ukraine. | READ MORE

'Words are good ... acts would be even better,' French foreign minister tells Russia on Ukraine after Putin said Moscow is ready for talks with West.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a new phone call on the Ukraine crisis on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the State Department said, after their last call on Saturday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow is ready for talks with the U.S. and NATO on limits for missile deployments and military transparency.

Speaking after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin said the U.S. and NATO rejected Moscow's demand to keep Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations out of NATO, halt weapons deployments near Russian borders and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe.

They agreed to discuss a range of security measures that Russia had previously proposed.

Putin said that Russia is ready to engage in talks on limits on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles in Europe, transparency of drills and other confidence-building measures but emphasized the need for the West to heed Russia's main demands.

The statement followed the Russian Defense Ministry's announced a partial pullback of troops after military drills, adding to hopes that the Kremlin may not be planning to invade Ukraine imminently. The Russian military gave no details on where the troops were pulling back from, or how many.

Russia has denied any plans to invade Ukraine.

Amid escalating tensions, Putin has said that he is 'ready to work further' with West on European security to de-escalate tensions.

After reports said that Moscow was withdrawing troops deployment at the Ukrainian border, German foreign minister Barbock said that Russia's troop withdrawal announcement 'must be followed by action'.

Russia is set to invade Ukraine at 1 am tomorrow, reports quoting highly placed sources in the US government suggested. Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier in the day claimed that Russia had pulled back its troops from the Ukrainian border. READ MORE