The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed speculation that President Vladimir Putin planned to declare war against Ukraine and declare a national mobilisation on May 9 when Russia commemorates the Soviet Union's victory in World War Two.
Commenting on speculation that Putin will declare war against Ukraine on May 9, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "There is no chance of that. It's nonsense."
Putin is set to deliver a speech on May 9 and oversee a military parade on Moscow's Red Square.
Peskov also said Russia has been looking into various options as it braces for an oil embargo by the European Union.
The European Union's chief executive on Wednesday proposed a phased oil embargo on Russia, sanctions on its top bank and a ban on Russian broadcasters from European airwaves in its toughest measures yet to punish Moscow over Ukraine.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Kremlin said no agreement had been reached on a possible meeting between Putin and Pope Francis for talks about Ukraine.
Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday that he had asked for a meeting in Moscow with Putin to try to stop the war in Ukraine but had not received a reply.
