French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Sunday agreed to work for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, Macron's office said. The two leaders also agreed on "the need to favour a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis and to do everything to achieve one", the Élysée said, adding that French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov would meet "in the coming days". Read about the day's events as they unfolded on our page below.
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02:20am Paris time
Putin-Biden agree 'in principle' to Ukraine summit
US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have accepted in principle to hold a summit, which can only happen if Moscow does not invade Ukraine, the French presidency announced Monday.
The summit, proposed by France's Emmanuel Macron, will be expanded to relevant stakeholders to discuss "security and strategic stability in Europe," a statement from the Elysee said, adding that preparations would start between Russia and the US on Thursday.
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02:08am Paris time
Satellite images show new Russian troop build-up
Satellite images show new deployments of Russian troops and military equipment near the Ukrainian border, a US company said Sunday evening.
The pictures show "multiple new field deployments of armoured equipment and troops" departing from existing military sites into forests and fields approximately 9 to 19 miles from Russia's border with Ukraine, US satellite imagery company Maxar said in an email.
The new photos, taken Sunday, appear to show vehicle tracks cutting through snow-covered fields that are surrounded by woodland and bordered by roads, with several buildings also visible.
Analysis of Sunday's photos, plus others taken February 13, indicate troop and equipment movement near three localities in southwestern Russia, according to the Colorado-based satellite company.
"Today, most of the combat units and support equipment at Soloti have departed and extensive vehicle tracks and some convoys of armoured equipment are seen throughout the area," Maxar said.
"Some equipment has also been deployed east of nearby Valuyki, Russia in a field approximately 15 kilometres north of the Ukraine border."
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01:52am Paris time
Macron calls for Ukraine summit
Macron proposes a Putin-Biden summit, accepted by both parties, says Élysée
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12:40am Paris time
Macron and Putin talk for second time in one day
French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke for an hour late on Sunday evening in their second conversation of the day, the French presidency said.
The two leaders had already held a nearly two-hour-long phone conversation on Sunday as part of a series of discussions between heads of state to try to avoid a major conflict in Ukraine.
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11:58pm Paris time
Intel shows Russia gave orders to 'attack' Ukraine, says US media
US media reported Sunday that the United States received intelligence last week saying the Russian military has been ordered to move forward with an attack against Ukraine, citing anonymous sources.
It was that intelligence that gave US President Joe Biden the confidence to say Friday he was "convinced" his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had decided to invade, the reports said.
The White House, Pentagon and State Department did not confirm the reports when asked by AFP.
A report from the Washington Post was matched by several other US media, including CBS, the New York Times, CNN and others.
"US intelligence that provided Biden with the confidence to make the assertion came from an order given to Russian subordinates to proceed with a full-scale attack, according to several people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity," the Post reported.
Other signs that might indicate an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine "have not yet been observed," CNN said, citing an anonymous source who also warned that orders to attack could still be withdrawn, or that the intelligence might have been planted to mislead the West.
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11:42 Paris time
Biden and Macron discuss Ukraine crisis
US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed on a call on Sunday the "ongoing diplomacy and deterrence efforts" over Russia's military build-up near Ukraine, the White House said.
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11:30pm Paris time
Explosion heard in Donetsk
A blast was heard early on Monday in the centre of the city of Donetsk, which is held by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters witness said.
The origin of the blast was unclear.
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9:30pm Paris time
Ukrainian independence 'poses a threat to Russia'
Earlier, FRANCE 24 spoke to Olexiy Haran, a professor of comparative politics at Kyiv Mohyla University. He told FRANCE 24 that Ukraine's wish to join NATO wasn't a catalyst for Russian aggression, saying, "The main threat for Putin is democracy in Ukraine and the very existence of Ukraine as a nation."
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9:10pm Paris time
US urges citizens to have evacuation plans ready
"There have been threats of attacks against shopping centres, railway and metro stations, and other public gathering places in major urban areas, including Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as in areas of heightened tension along the Russian border with Ukraine," the embassy said.
"Review your personal security plans," the embassy said. "Have evacuation plans that do not rely on US government assistance."
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, questioned if the United States had passed on the information about possible attacks to Russia.
"And if not, how is one to understand all of this?" Zakharova said.
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6:30pm Paris time
Ukraine urges the West to impose sanctions
The US refuses to impose sanctions, despite repeated calls from Ukraine leaders to do so. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky told Western leaders at a security conference in Munich on Saturday, "You tell me 100% that there will be war in a few days’ time. What are you waiting for?"
"We will not need your sanctions after there is a bombardment, or after our state is shot at, or if we have no more borders, we do not have an economy, or parts of our state is occupied," he added.
FRANCE 24's correspondent Gulliver Cragg said that the president's impassioned speech helped to rally public support.
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5:30pm Paris time
Russia says West is whipping up tensions
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the repeated warnings by the West that Russia was about to invade were provocative and could have adverse consequences, which he did not spell out. Russia says the West has raised tensions by sending NATO reinforcements to eastern Europe during the crisis.
Western countries are preparing sanctions they say would be wide-reaching against Russian companies and individuals in case of an invasion.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a BBC interview that such sanctions could include restrictions on Russian businesses' access to the dollar and the pound. However, he acknowledged such threats may not deter Moscow.
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5:00pm Paris time
Belarus says Russia will extend drills
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that a meeting with his Russian counterpart is set to go ahead next week, despite tensions ratcheting up a notch after Belarus said that Russia will extend the military drills that were due to end on Sunday.
"Everything we are seeing suggests that this is dead serious, that we are on the brink of an invasion. We will do everything we can to try to prevent it before it happens," Blinken said on CNN's 'State of the Union' show, adding that the West was equally prepared if Moscow invades.
"Until the tanks are actually rolling, and the planes are flying, we will use every opportunity and every minute we have to see if diplomacy can still dissuade President (Vladimir) Putin from carrying this forward," he said.
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4:50pm Paris time
Russia, Ukraine and OSCE to hold trilateral talks
During their phone call, Macron and Putin agreed that there would be trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE on Monday. Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and the French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will also speak by telephone on Monday, the Russian foreign ministry said.
Macron and Putin had different views on who is responsible for tensions in eastern Ukraine, an Élysée source said. Macron put blame on Russian separatists, while Putin said the tensions were Ukraine's fault.
During the call, Putin reiterated to Macron that Russian troops would leave Belarus after they had finished military exercises.
The French presidency said that this claim "will have to be verified", adding it appeared to contradict a statement by the Belarusian government that the Russian military would "continue inspections" beyond Sunday's previously announced end of the exercises, leaving Moscow with a large force near the northern Ukraine border.
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4:06pm Paris time
Putin and Macron discuss need to step up Ukraine diplomacy
Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the need to step up the search for diplomatic solutions to the escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine in a phone call on Sunday, the Kremlin said in a statement.
"In view of the urgency of the situation, the Presidents acknowledged the need to intensify the search for solutions through diplomatic means via the foreign ministries and political advisers to the leaders of the Normandy format," the Kremlin said in a statement.
"These contacts should facilitate the restoration of the ceasefire regime and ensure progress in the settlement of the conflict in Donbass," the Kremlin added.
In a separate call earlier on Sunday, Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed possible ways to secure immediate de-escalation.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)
