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There has been no diplomatic breakthrough over Ukraine as Russian forces remain stationed along the border.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the United Nations that Russia is ready for a "massive military assault" on Ukraine. Plus, top White House advisers meet with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill.

The State Department says Russia accepted an invitation to meet about the Ukraine crisis next week, provided there is no military invasion before that time. NBC News confirms that Pres. Biden will speak with key allies in a phone call on the crisis on Friday. MSNBC Political Analyst Ben Rhodes tells Lawrence O'Donnell, ultimately it all comes down to “the decision of one man, Vladimir Putin.”

Is the threat of war in the middle of Europe receding or simply at a lull? Russia says it’s drawing down the troops massed at Ukraine’s border; the West is sceptical.
With the forces and weapons still in place, Russia retains the ability to launch a full fledged invasion, according to NATO. Yet President Putin says he’s ready to give diplomacy a chance. It fell to Germany’s Chancellor to decipher the mixed messages as he visited the Kremlin this week.
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing a high-stakes game. With Russian troops surrounding Ukraine, will threats get him what he wants? Our guests: Alexander Rahr, Russia expert, Regina Heller, Peace Researcher (IFSH), Roman Goncharenko (DW)

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that there is a "very high" risk Russia will invade Ukraine in the coming days.
"We have reason to believe that they are engaged in a false flag operation as an excuse to go in," the US leader said.
Biden's comments come amid reports that Ukrainian forces and pro-Moscow separatists exchanged fire in the east of the country.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Russia was flying in more combat and support aircraft.
Amid the heightened tensions, the United Nations Security Council convened Thursday for a meeting on Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who changed travel plans at the last minute to speak at the meeting, said that US intelligence shows Russian forces are preparing to attack Ukraine in the "coming days."
Blinken said the potential invasion is a "moment of peril" for millions of people. He said Russia's targets in Ukraine include the capital, Kyiv.
He also warned that Russia would attempt disinformation campaigns through state media to spread "false alarms" and carry out a "fake or real" attack to claim a pretext for invasion.
"Russia may describe this event as ethnic cleansing or a genocide," he said.

Former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss the precarious situation in Ukraine as tension with Russia builds to a tipping point. “It could be one misjudgment, one mistake, one plane flying too close to another, one bad decision, and war could break out,” says Panetta.

As tensions over Ukraine remain high, Russian Foreign Minister explains what in fact the REAL ESCALATION actually is.

#news #trending #worldevents

The Libertarian Institute director Scott Horton details why the Russian president won't invade Ukraine on 'Kennedy' #FoxBusiness #Kennedy

In late 2019, Horton joined the Libertarian Party to support Jacob Hornberger’s presidential campaign.[7]

Horton is married to investigative reporter Larisa Alexandrovna.[1]

In response to the sanctions introduced by the US and EU, the Russian Duma unanimously passed a resolution asking for all members of the Duma to be included on the sanctions list.[408] Head of the Just Russia party Sergei Mironov said he was proud of being included on the sanctions list: "It is with pride that I have found myself on the black list, this means they have noticed my stance on Crimea."[409] Russian companies started pulling billions of dollars out of Western banks to avoid any asset freeze.[410]

China on Wednesday criticized the expansion of economic sanctions against Russia, saying that they were unlikely to solve the Ukraine crisis and that they had the potential to harm average people as well as the interests of Beijing.

“The position of the Chinese government is that we believe that sanctions have never been a fundamental and effective way to solve problems, and China always opposes any illegal unilateral sanctions,” Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The United States is poised to unleash a wider array of sanctions against Russia if Moscow escalates the conflict in Ukraine, denying key Russian financial institutions and companies access to U.S. dollar transactions and global markets for trade, energy exports and financing. read more

But the United States and its allies have never before attempted to cut a $1.5 trillion economy out of global commerce, and it is unclear how much pressure even unified Western sanctions can put on Moscow.

CNBC's Robert Frank joins Shep Smith to report on Putin's efforts to make Russia 'sanction-proof.'

As tensions continue to mount over Ukraine, Russia is strengthening its troop deployment along Ukraine's borders. Ukraine President Zelensky warns of major war in Europe.

#Ukraine #Russia #Europe

President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering troops into two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. #CNN #News

Ukrainian soldiers whom Current Time caught up with on February 23 in the Donetsk city of Horlivka -- a town on the front line with Russia-backed separatists -- said they have noticed a change since Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the separatist entities as independent states.

Former four-star Marine Corps General John Allen joins Shep Smith to discuss what to expect from a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.

High Representative Josep Borrell Fontelles of the European Union offers solidarity and assistance to Ukraine after Russia launched an attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is trying to negotiate for 30 years now as he slams the NATO alliance and announces military operations in Ukraine. The latest reports suggest that explosions were heard across Ukraine after Putin's announcement. Russia said that the action is to disable Ukrainian military infrastructure.

#Russia #Ukraine #Kyiv

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is trying to negotiate for 30 years now as he slams the NATO alliance and announced military operations in Ukraine. Putin also called on the Ukraine military to 'lay down arms'.

#Russia #Ukraine #Shelling

Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is facing U.S heat as Russia hosts him for a bilateral with President Putin amid Ukraine war. Biden administration has conveyed its position to Pakistan on Russia and Ukraine and expects Pakistani PM to take a firm stand against the invasion of Ukraine. Imran Khan arrived in Moscow yesterday and is set to hold a meeting with Putin amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. Watch this video for full details.

#Imran Khan #Ukraine #Russia #Putin #Biden #USA #Ukrainewar #Russianinvasion

Ukraine says it was attacked through Russian, Belarus and Crimea borders
From CNN's Tim Lister and Julia Kesa in Kyiv

Ukraine was attacked through multiple borders, the Ukrainian state border service said early Thursday.

"At about 5:00 a.m., the state border of Ukraine in the area with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus was attacked by Russian troops supported by Belarus," the service said.

It added that attacks are being carried out in Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr regions — areas on the eastern and northern borders of Ukraine. The attacks are targeting border units, border patrols and checkpoints using artillery, heavy equipment and small arms, the border service said.

"In addition, the attack takes place from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea side," said the service.

Ukraine is firing back: It added that border guards, along with Ukraine's Armed Forces and National Guard, are "firing at the enemy" depending on the situation on the border.