Vladimir Putin will convene an extraordinary meeting of the Russian Security Council on Monday, his spokesman has said.
“This will be a big Security Council. There will be a speech by the head of state as well as other speeches,” Mr Peskov said.
The security council acts as a platform for determining and coordinating national security policy.
It comes as a Ukrainian separatist official appealed to Russia for military and financial aid.
Eduard Basurin, an official in Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said in a broadcast on Russia’s Solovyov Live show that Donetsk needs “first of all moral (help), financial I would also not refuse, military is also necessary, in all aspects.”
Follow the latest updates below.
12:25 PM
Ukraine today, in pictures
12:12 PM
Dominic Raab chairing Cobra meeting
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is currently chairing an emergency Cobra meeting on the crisis in Ukraine, according to reports.
Boris Johnson is not thought to be involved in the meeting, but did receive a “detailed briefing” on the situation this morning.
12:06 PM
‘Vladimir Putin has embarrassed Emmanuel Macron – again’
The French President’s attempt to broker a deal with Russia could be doing more harm than good, says our Paris correspondent Henry Samuel.
Is Emmanuel Macron a glutton for punishment? It certainly looks that way given his willingness to seek to broker peace with Vladimir Putin only to be humiliated.
The first slap came after the French president spent five hours across that endlessly long marble table in Moscow to wrench a commitment not to escalate the situation on the Ukrainian border from the Russian president. Within hours, intelligence on the ground suggested Putin had decided to ride roughshod over that pledge.
You can read Henry’s analysis in full here.
12:01 PM
Ukrainian separatists request Russian military aid
A Ukrainian separatist official has appealed to Russia for military and financial aid, reports our Moscow correspondent Nataliya Vasilyeva.
Eduard Basurin, an official in Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said in a broadcast on Russia’s Solovyov Live show that Donetsk needs “first of all moral (help), financial I would also not refuse, military is also necessary, in all aspects.”
Other officials in Donetsk have not yet commented.
Russia has propped up the separatists with funds and troops since the fighting there broke out in 2014 but the Russian troops have only been involved in clandestine operations, and Moscow has insisted that it was not party to the conflict.
Mr Basurin also said that citizens had been left without drinking water, which he called an act of “genocide” by Kyiv, according to RIA News.
Reports from the Donetsk’s People’s Republic have said that the water filtration station in Donetsk had been put out of action due to shelling.
Calls for assistance from the Donetsk People’s Republic come amidst a series of false flag attacks by Russia. Footage of recent so-called Ukrainian attacks on the region have been debunked through examination of the videos’ metadata.
11:53 AM
Joe Biden asked Emmanuel Macron to offer Vladimir Putin summit
Joe Biden had asked Emmanuel Macron to make the offer of a summit between Mr Biden and Vladimir Putin to the Russian President, said an official from the French Presidency.
“We’re slowly changing the course of things. We’re creating a diplomatic perspective the Kremlin accepts,” said the French presidential adviser.
In an apparent attempt to deflect blame away from Paris, the advsier added: “It is today possible to move towards a summit… Now it is up to President Putin to make his choice.”
The official went on to describe the situation as “very dangerous” and the parties as “walking a fine line”.
“He is a facilitator,” added the French presidential adviser, commenting on Mr Macron’s role.
French newspaper Le Figaro has warned that it is arguable whether a politics of “appeasement” with Mr Putin was worth it.
“It may have short-term advantages,” the outlet wrote in an editorial. “But in the long run, it’s hard to see how brandishing an ‘olive branch’ before tanks is a policy capable of forcing Vladimir Putin’s respect.”
The Kremlin today said Mr Putin and Mr Biden could set up a call or meeting any time but there were no concrete plans yet for a summit.
11:47 AM
Biden-Putin summit can’t solve anything without Ukraine, Kyiv says
Russian President Vladimir Putin but nothing can be solved without Kyiv’s involvement, Ukraine’s top security official has said.
“No one can resolve our issue without us,” Oleksiy Danilov told a briefing. “Everything should happen with our participation.”
Mr Biden and Mr Putin have agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, though the Kremlin this morning said it was “premature” to organise any such meeting.
11:31 AM
Invasion cost must be ‘intolerably high’, says Liz Truss
11:21 AM
Olaf Scholz to hold telephone talks with Vladimir Putin
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone later today in a further effort to ease tensions over Ukraine, the German government spokesman said.
Steffen Hebestreit said the planned call “this afternoon” had been “closely coordinated” with French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke to Mr Putin several times on Sunday.
He said the talks were part of “joint diplomatic efforts” by the West to “prevent a catastrophe” in Ukraine.
11:10 AM
Prospect of war ‘very real’, says Tobias Ellwood
The prospect of war in Europe has become “very much real”, a Tory MP has said.
Speaking to TalkRadio, Tobias Ellwood said “the prospect of war in Europe is very much real, I think we’re going to see it actually happening in the next few days. I’m afraid I don’t hold out much hope for this final bit of diplomacy but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be explored.”
“The relative peace that you and I have grown up with in the last three or four decades is actually quite fragile, it’s actually quite unique, it’s not the normal. You need to be determined to defend our way of life. The West needs to work with greater resolve as one to challenge this authoritarianism.”
Mr Ellwood added that the current situation is a “flashback” to the appeasement policies of 1938, 3echoiung views expressed by Ben Wallace a week ago that the current tensions had a “whiff of Munich”.
“When do you stop agreeing to what those terms are because we’re about to see a regime dictator invade another country. Nato is a defensive organisation, it should defend European democracy and I think there’s a lot more that needs to be done by the most formidable military alliance in the world to defend Europe. If we agree to Putin’s terms now, where does he go next?” Mr Ellwood asked.
US President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin have agreed to meet at a summit on the Russian threat to Ukraine
Defence Select Committee Chairman Tobias Ellwood says the “prospect of war in Europe is very much real” and it could happen in the coming days@JuliaHB1 | @Tobias_Ellwood pic.twitter.com/9WkncapHCA
— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) February 21, 2022
10:57 AM
Ukraine denies shelling Russian border facility
The Ukrainian military on Monday denied shelling a border facility used by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), calling Moscow’s claim “fake news”.
“We couldn’t stop them producing this fake news, but we always emphasise that we do not shoot at civilian infrastructure, or into some territory in the Rostov region or whatever,” Ukrainian military spokesman Pavlo Kovalchuk told reporters.
10:47 AM
Air France cancels flights to Kyiv ‘until further notice’
Air France has suspended all flights to Kyiv “until further notice” amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, Le Parisien reports.
The spokesman for the airline has said: “We have taken this decision for the safety of our passengers and our crews.”
“The flight scheduled for Tuesday morning is cancelled. The situation will be reevaluated in the coming weeks.”
The company has said that the situation will be re-assessed “regularly”.
Air France is the latest airline to suspend flights to and from the Ukrainian capital, with Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SAS also suspending flights to the country over the weekend.
Dutch carrier KLM became the first airline to suspend flights to the Ukraine on February 12, with that route yet to reopen.
10:37 AM
7,000 ‘refugees’ relocated across Russia
Over 7,000 evacuees from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have been moved on from Rostov to regions across Russia over the course of a day, RIA News reports.
The Ministry for Emergency Situations has announced that 43 regions are ready to accept “refugees” following the evacuation of the separatist areas over the weekend.
The region surrounding Russia’s capital is expecting to receive 1,500 civilians today alone, according to the governor of Moskovskaya Oblast Andrei Vorobyov. He said in a weekly meeting of district leaders and regional ministers that they are due to arrive in the administrative centre of the region, Naro-Fominsk to be later settled in towns throughout the region.
400 “temporary accommodation points” have been prepared across the country, with an overall capacity of 42,000 people. RIA News reports that there are a further 149 in reserve with more than 54,000 spaces.
10:24 AM
‘Toothless President Biden is failing the West’
His hapless leadership and utter lack of vision has diminished America on the world stage, says Nile Gardiner.
The increasingly likely Russian invasion of Ukraine is a wake-up call for the West, a shattering of the illusion that the spectre of war can be banished from modern-day Europe. Tens of thousands may die on the altar of the vainglorious imperial ambitions of a vicious regime in Moscow headed by a brutal tyrant. Kyiv, one of the biggest cities in Europe, could be conquered by invading Russian troops in what might be the biggest urban battle the European continent has witnessed since the Second World War.
The impending war in Ukraine has exposed not just the impotence and shameful appeasement mindset of Europe’s ruling elites in Brussels, Berlin and Paris. It has also sharply illustrated the tragic decline of American leadership on the world stage.
You can read Nile’s views in full here.
10:09 AM
Russian border post ‘destroyed by shell’, claim FSB
Russia’s intelligence agency FSB has claimed a projectile launched from the Ukraine-controlled part of the border with the Donbas hit a Russian border guards post, reports our Moscow correspondent Nataliya Vasilyeva.
The FSB said in a statement on Monday an unidentified shell fired from Ukraine “destroyed” the Russian border post situated in Russia about 150 metres away from the border. No casualties were reported.
The FSB said the border post was in Rostov Oblast, but did not name the precise location.
Sporadic shelling across the line dividing Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east has intensified since Thursday.
09:57 AM
Vladimir Putin calls ‘extraordinary’ meeting of Russia’s security council
Vladimir Putin will convene an extraordinary meeting of the Russian Security Council on Monday, his spokesman has said.
“This will be a big Security Council. There will be a speech by the head of state as well as other speeches,” Mr Peskov said.
The security council acts as a platform for determining and coordinating national security policy.
It is composed of Russia′s leading state officials and heads of defence and security agencies and chaired by the nation’s president.
09:46 AM
7,000 extra troops on border, minister says
There are 7,000 more Russian troops on the Ukrainian border than there were a few days ago, a business minister has said.
Paul Scully told Sky News the number had been bolstered “despite the Russians trying to signal the fact they were pulling away from the border”.
He said: “So there is a very, very credible threat and that’s why we’ve got to continue to be vigilant, we’ve got to continue to work with Ukraine and Poland, as Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, was doing just this week.”
He warned “the loss of life will be horrendous” if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not engage in diplomacy.
09:33 AM
‘Tens of thousands’ of casualties expected ‘in opening days’ of Russian attack
Tens of thousands of casualties are expected “in the opening days” of conflict if Russia decides to attack Ukraine, a senior US intelligence official told the New York Times.
Previous predictions that Vladimir Putin would launch an assault on Ukraine in the form of a “minor incursion” are now considered less likely than a single nationwide attack by some US intelligence officials.
Russia’s plans for invasion – some of which have been seen by officials at the Pentagon – include “overwhelmingly intense fire”, according to the New York Times. There are fears that Ukraine could see “intense” rocket attacks and fighting on the streets of Kyiv.
Russian troops – which are to remain in Belarus after the completion of joint military exercises this weekend – are located just 100 miles away from Kyiv on Belarus’ border with the country, providing further evidence that Kyiv is the primary target.
Fears of an intense bombardment of Ukraine are heightened by Russia’s approach to military action in Syria, where 39,000 Russian airstrikes have taken place since 2015, compared to the America’s 19,904, with as many as 23,000 dead, according to Airwars. Russian airstrike targets included civilian sites such as hospitals.
09:18 AM
US warns Russia has ‘hit list’ for after invasion
America has warned the United Nations it has information that Russia has lists of Ukrainians “to be killed or sent to camps” in the event of an invasion, according to a letter sent to the UN rights chief and obtained by several international media outlets.
The letter, which came as Washington warned of an imminent invasion by Russian troops massed near the Ukrainian border, says the United States is “deeply concerned” and warns of a potential “human rights catastrophe.”
The United States has “credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation,” the letter says.
Russia dismissed the letter, calling the existence of any such list of names “an absolute lie”.
09:05 AM
Slap sanctions on Russia now, Ukraine tells the EU
The European Union must start imposing some sanctions on Russia now to show it is serious about wanting to prevent a war, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said as he arrived in Brussels to meet the bloc’s foreign ministers.
Western countries fear a buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine in recent weeks is a prelude to an invasion and say this would trigger “massive” sanctions against Moscow. Russia denies any plans to invade but wants sweeping security guarantees.
“We expect decisions,” Mr Kuleba said. “There are plenty of decisions the European Union can make now to send clear messages to Russia that its escalation will not be tolerated and Ukraine will not be left on its own.”
“We believe that there are good and legitimate reasons to impose at least some of the sanctions now to demonstrate that the European Union is not only talking the talk about sanctions, but is also walking the walk.”
But the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell appeared to reject the idea of immediate sanctions, saying he still saw room for diplomacy.
Speaking shortly before Mr Kuleba, Mr Borrell told reporters he would convene an extraordinary EU meeting to agree sanctions “when the moment comes”.
08:49 AM
Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron held two phone calls on Sunday
Presidents Macron and Putin held two separate phone calls on Sunday to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, the Kremlin press secretary confirmed.
Dmitry Peskov said today that the second phone call had been held overnight at the instigation of Mr Macron, and that the leaders had continued their conversations about “the necessity for continuing dialogue” through foreign ministries and political advisors within the Normandy format.
France’s Europe Minister Clement Baune said that the French president had revived “diplomatic hope” after proposing a US-Russia summit on the Ukraine crisis, to which both Mr Biden and Mr Putin have provisionally agreed.
He told LCI TV that “if there is still a chance to avoid a confrontation and build a political and diplomatic solution, then we need to take it.”
08:39 AM
Russian troop movement captured on satallite
08:26 AM
Russian troops to stay in Belarus unless there’s ‘objective necessity to leave’
Russian troops will remain in Belarus following the end of planned military exercises until there is an “objective necessity” for them to leave, the Belarussian Ministry of Defence has said.
“Russian armed forces units will return to their permanent bases only when there is an objective necessity and when we have determined that ourselves” the Belarussian military said in a statement today, according to reports by Russian news organisation RBK.
The Ministry also maintained that they had a right to demand the withdrawal of US and Nato troops from nearby borders.
08:09 AM
Four Russian false flags that are comically easy to debunk
Analysts are pouring over video footage of purported standoffs and attacks as Europe teeters on the edge of war. Verity Bowman takes a look at how to spot disinformation.
For weeks Britain and the United States have been warning of Russian false flag attacks to create a justification for military action.
But in the age of social media, the Kremlin’s propaganda battle and disinformation campaigns by pro-Russian forces are easier to spot than ever before.
Analysts are pouring over video footage of purported standoffs and attacks as Europe teeters on the edge of war – all of them devised to create confusion and doubt and ultimately paint Ukraine as the aggressor.
Take a read of Verity’s analysis here.
07:58 AM
Evacuees arrive in Russia, in pictures
07:45 AM
EU supports further talks between US and Russia, Josep Borrell says
The European Union supports the latest attempt to arrange further talks between Washington and Moscow to find a diplomatic solution amid a Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s borders, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
“Summit meetings, at the level of leaders, at the level of ministers, whatever format, whatever way of talking and sitting at the table and trying to avoid a war, is badly needed,” Mr Borrell told reporters in Brussels ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
“We will support anything that can make diplomatic conversations the best way, the only way to look for a solution to the crisis,” he added, after France announced U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine.
His statement comes as German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday accused Moscow of playing an “irresponsible” game with the civilian population of eastern Ukraine, putting their lives at risk.
“I urgently call on the Russian government, on the Russian president: Don’t play with human lives,” she told reporters on arrival for a meeting with her EU counterparts in Brussels.
“What we have seen over the last 72 hours in terms of attacks, violent disputes is really concerning,” she said. “The responsibility lies with the Russian government which is why I call urgently on the Russian government: Come back to the negotiating table. It is in your hands.”
07:30 AM
Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin agree ‘in principle’ to diplomatic summit
Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine if the feared Russian invasion does not take place.
The summit would take place after a scheduled meeting between US secretary of state Antony Blinken and his Russian opposite number, Sergei Lavrov, which is also conditional on Moscow not pressing ahead with military action.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, announced the move in a statement on Sunday night amid mounting fears in the US that an invasion is imminent.
However, several administration officials on Sunday played down the reports of a possible summit, saying that Mr. Putin has a history of agreeing to talks even as he prepares for — and ultimately engages in — armed conflict.
It followed a day of shuttle diplomacy by French president Emanuel Macron, who spoke to both Mr Biden and Mr Putin.
