Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint news conference with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in Moscow, Russia February 10, 2022.
Russian Foreign Ministry | Reuters
Russia’s foreign minister has reportedly suggested to President Vladimir Putin that Moscow use diplomacy to obtain concessions from the West, after U.S. officials warned a Russian attack on Ukraine could happen “any day now.”
Reuters reported on Monday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said to Putin that the Kremlin should seek a diplomatic route toward procuring the security guarantees it has demanded, as tensions mount over its military activity at the Ukrainian border.
Russia is demanding that Ukraine never be permitted to become a NATO member, and has said it wants the organization to roll back its presence in Eastern Europe.
U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday that a Russian attack on Ukraine could happen “any day now.” “That includes this coming week,” he said.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan gives a statement about the situation in Afghanistan during a news briefing at the White House in Washington, August 23, 2021.
Leah Millis | Reuters
Security officials in Washington, London and Ukraine told Politico on Friday that U.S. intelligence officers had briefed allies last week that the invasion may begin on Wednesday Feb. 16. However, Sullivan said on Sunday that officials “cannot perfectly predict the day.”
On Sunday evening, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia had failed to respond to a request Ukraine had filed under the Vienna Document — a treaty signed by 56 member states aimed at maintaining military transparency across Europe — for a meeting.
“Consequently, we take the next step,” Kuleba said in a statement. “We request a meeting with Russia and all participating states within 48 hours to discuss its reinforcement and redeployment along our border and in temporarily occupied Crimea.”
An estimated 30,000 Russian troops are currently engaged in a 10-day program of military drills with neighboring Belarus, which also shares a border with Ukraine.
The drills, widely seen as a display of strength by Russia, come as more than 100,000 soldiers, tanks, missiles and even fresh blood supplies have been moved to Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Moscow has insisted it has no plans to invade Ukraine.
‘Ukrainians are pushed to panic’
Ukraine has also accused Russia of creating a sea blockade, according to the BBC, with officials claiming the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea have been blocked by Russian forces, which are set to begin naval drills this week.
Russian Navy’s diesel-electric submarine Rostov-on-Don sails in Bosphorus, on its way to the Black Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, on February 13, 2022.
Yoruk Isik | Reuters
Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, a peninsula in Ukraine’s south, in 2014.
Speaking to CNBC’s Silvia Amaro on Monday, Ukrainian ambassador to the U.K., Vadym Prystaiko, said that there was intel…
Read More: Ukraine asks for meeting with Russia as U.S. warns invasion imminent