German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday that Germany, France and Poland were all "united" in the goal of keeping European peace ahead of talks on the Ukraine crisis with French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda. Read our live updates below to see how all the day's events unfolded.
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12:15am Paris time
'Element of detente' after French president's Russia visit: EU's Borrell
French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Russia brought "an element of detente" to the crisis between the West and Moscow over Ukraine, but did not amount to a "miracle," the EU's diplomatic chief said Tuesday.
"As far as people are willing to sit at the table and talk I think that there is a hope for not going into military confrontation," Josep Borrell told reporters at the end of a visit to Washington.
As such, Macron's visit Monday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was "a positive signal" and "a good initiative," Borrell added.
"I think it represents an element of detente."
Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, prompting accusations from the United States and European nations that it is preparing an invasion.
Moscow denies plans to invade and has demanded sweeping security guarantees from Washington and the NATO alliance.
Intense diplomacy has been underway to avert war, with Borrell previously describing the situation as the most dangerous for Europe since the end of the Cold War.
After Macron met with Putin, he said he saw "concrete" solutions to the crisis and had received assurances from the Russian leader that there would be no further escalation.
But despite his optimism, Borrell said the problem "has not yet been solved."
"The visit of President Macron to Moscow was important, but it has not produced a miracle," he said, with no signs of Russian de-escalation.
The most important thing for Russian authorities was not Ukraine, but "the new architecture of security in Europe," he said, adding that "they contest this architecture."
"They put pressure on Ukraine in order to obtain sitting and talking about something that for them is important, the enlargement of NATO and the security concern they have."
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9:18pm Paris time
Biden will engage 'soon' with France's Macron over Russia
US President Joe Biden plans to engage with French President Emmanuel Macron soon, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.
"We will continue to be in very close contact with our French counterparts" about the possible threat of a Russian invasion into Ukraine, Psaki said.
Macron and Biden had spoken twice in the past week, she said. "I expect he will be engaged with him soon," she added.
Macron this week became the first leader of a major Western power to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin since Russia massed troops near Ukraine.
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8:45pm Paris time
Macron urges 'firm' dialogue with Russia on Ukraine crisis
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Tuesday for "firm" dialogue with Russia to resolve the Ukraine crisis, in talks with his German and Polish counterparts in Berlin.
After two days of shuttle diplomacy in Moscow and Kyiv, Macron told reporters: "We must find ways and means together to engage in a firm dialogue with Russia," which he called the "only path to peace in Ukraine".
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8:30pm Paris time
Poland's Duda says still possible to avoid war in Europe
Polish President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday he was confident war could still be averted by easing tensions with Russia over Ukraine, at a Berlin meeting with the leaders of Germany and France.
"We have to find a solution to avoid war. As I've said, this is currently our main task. I believe that we will achieve it. In my opinion what's most important today is unity and solidarity," Duda said.
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8:02pm Paris time
Germany, France, Poland 'united' in goal of keeping European peace: Scholz
The leaders of Germany, France and Poland will discuss ways to de-escalate tensions over the Russian military build-up on the border of Ukraine in their talks late on Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
"Our common goal is to prevent a war in Europe," Scholz said alongside President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda ahead of talks in the German chancellery.
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6:40pm Paris time
Macron arrives in Berlin for talks on Ukraine crisis
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Berlin on Tuesday evening for talks with the leaders of Germany and Poland on the Ukraine crisis, after a round of shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kyiv.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who himself just returned from a visit to Washington dominated by the Ukraine tensions, is hosting the meeting with Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda in a bid to present a united front.
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4:04pm Paris time
Macron sees path to calm Russia tensions after Ukraine push
French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday he saw a path forward on easing tensions with Russia over Ukraine, after conducting an urgent round of shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kyiv.
Macron held talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv a day after a five-hour meeting at the Kremlin with Russia's Vladimir Putin, as the West scrambles to defuse fears Moscow could invade its ex-Soviet neighbour.
The French leader said he now saw the "possibility" for talks involving Moscow and Kyiv over the festering conflict in the east of the country to move forward, and "concrete, practical solutions" to lower tensions between Russia and the West.
"We cannot under-estimate the moment of tension that we are living through," Macron said at a joint press conference after meeting Zelensky.
"We cannot resolve this crisis in a few hours of talks," he said. "It will be the day and the weeks and the months to come that will allow us to progress."
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3:20pm Paris time
'Zelensky is not going to concede to any demands Vladimir Putin might make'
“It’s clear that Zelensky is not going to concede to any demands Vladimir Putin might make," says Rob Parsons, FRANCE 24's Chief Foreign Editor. "The key is going to be, as it always has been over the last few months, how the Minsk agreement is interpreted. This is an agreement between Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France on the future of Eastern Ukraine. For the moment, they’ve managed to establish a control line where in theory at least there haven’t been military operations going on. But there has been very little progress towards any real political solution and that really is the key. The problem at the moment is in the different interpretations of the Minsk Agreement, the Russians and the Ukrainians are poles apart."
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2:30pm Paris time
Macron says Putin, Zelensky back Minsk agreements
Speaking after his Ukrainian counterpart, France's Emmanuel Macron said the leaders of both Russia and Ukraine had committed to honouring the Minsk accords.
"We have now the possibility of advancing negotiations," Macron told Zelenskiy after the talks in Kyiv.
The Minsk set of agreements were signed in 2014 and 2015 by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany as a response to Russia's annexation of Crimea. They include an aim to end the separatist war by Russian-speakers in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region.
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2:25pm Paris time
Ukraine expects summit with Russia, France, Germany soon
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected to hold a summit soon with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany, after meeting French leader Emmanuel Macron in Kyiv.
"We expect that in the near future... we will be able to hold the next talks between the leaders of the Normandy quartet," Zelensky told a press conference, referring to negotiations aimed at ending the festering conflict in eastern Ukraine. His guest, Emmanuel Macron, will be speaking next.
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1:15pm Paris time
Denmark boosts military preparedness
Denmark said on Tuesday it is boosting its military preparedness in response to Russia's "unacceptable military pressure" on Ukraine, putting a mobile NATO-operational battalion on alert.
The Danish military "will boost the readiness of the combat battalion at NATO's disposal so that it will be available within one to five days", compared to the usual 30 days, the defence ministry said.
The battalion of 700-800 troops will be located in Slagelse, around 90 kilometres (56 miles) west of Copenhagen, it added.
"The security situation in Europe has intensified as a result of unacceptable Russian military pressure on Ukraine", the Danish defence ministry continued.
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11:45am Paris time
Macron says he convinced Putin not to 'escalate' crisis
French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that he had managed to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin not to "escalate" the crisis around Ukraine, as the West warns Moscow could be planning an invasion.
"I obtained that there will be no degradation nor escalation," Macron told journalists as he arrived in Kyiv for talks with Ukraine's leader.
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11:30am Paris time
First US troops reinforcing NATO eastern flank arrive in Romania
The first US troops reinforcing NATO allies on the eastern flank have arrived in Romania, the country's Defence Minister Vasile Dancu has said.
The US is sending nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to shield Eastern Europe from potential spillover from the Ukraine crisis.
The Pentagon said it will relocate a Stryker squadron of around 1,000 US service members from Vilseck, Germany to Romania. In Poland, troops began arriving on Saturday.
Dancu told reporters the first 100 US troops were in Romania handling logistics.
"The Americans have arrived," he said. "Over 100 specialist US soldiers together with our logistics specialists are preparing, which means it will not be long before the rest of the troops arrive."
The US currently has about 900 soldiers in the country, a NATO member since 2004 and host to a ballistic missile defence system, some as part of the NATO force and some under separate bilateral arrangements.
France said it also plans to send troops to Romania and has offered to be the lead nation of a future NATO mission, which could see about 1,000 troops from various countries.
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11:30am Paris time
Kremlin denies Putin told Macron there will be no new manoeuvres near Ukraine
The Kremlin has said French assertions that Putin promised Macron that Moscow would not carry out new military initiatives around Ukraine for now are "not right".
A French official said Putin had made the pledge during long talks in Moscow on Monday evening with Macron.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia and France had not yet been able to strike a deal on de-escalating tensions around Ukraine, but said de-escalation was needed and that the meeting had provided the basis for further work on that front.
According to the same French official, Putin also agreed that troops taking part in a military exercise on Belarusian territory near Ukraine's borders will be pulled back once those war games are over on February 20.
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10:30am Paris time
Russia says six warships heading to Black Sea for drills
Six Russian warships are heading to the Black Sea from the Mediterranean for naval drills, the Interfax news agency has said citing Russia's Defence Ministry, in what it said was a pre-planned movement of military resources.
Russia announced last month its navy would stage a sweeping set of exercises involving all its fleets in January and February, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, the latest show of strength in a surge of military activity during the Ukraine crisis.
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9am Paris time
Rouble hits four-week high after Putin-Macron talks
The rouble has touched its strongest level in nearly four weeks after last night's talks between Macron and Putin, with investors looking for signs of de-escalation in Moscow's standoff with the West over Ukraine.
At 7:37 am GMT, the rouble was 0.2% stronger against the dollar at 75.34, earlier touching 75.14, its strongest level since January 13. It had gained 0.5 percent to trade at 85.87 versus the euro.
The rouble will likely stay near 75-76 to the greenback for now, Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko Invest, told Reuters.
"There are signs of optimism regarding Russian geopolitical risk perception this week," said Alfa Bank in a note, pointing to the Macron-Putin meeting and the French leader's scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy due later today.
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8:30am Paris time
Ukraine to conduct drills with drones, anti-tank missiles
Ukraine's army will conduct military drills from February 10 to February 20 in response to Russian exercises in Belarus near Ukraine's northern border, the country's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said late on Monday.
Reznikov told a local TV channel that Ukrainian soldiers were constantly carrying out various exercises and that from Thursday they will start drilling the use of Bayraktar drones and anti-tank Javelin and NLAW missiles provided by allies.
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7:50am Paris time
Johnson says UK sanctions ready if Russia attacks Ukraine
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said sanctions and other measures will be ready in the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine, and his government will ask parliament for sanctions on Russian individuals and companies.
Writing in The Times on Tuesday, Johnson said Britain is considering deploying Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters and Royal Navy warships to protect southeastern Europe.
Johnson also wrote that Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will both travel to Moscow soon.
"British sanctions and other measures will be ready for any renewed Russian attack," Johnson wrote.
"The government will ask parliament for new powers to sanction a wider range of Russian individuals and entities, including any company linked to the Russian state or operating in a sector of strategic importance to the Kremlin."
The UK is also preparing to reinforce the British-led NATO battlegroup in Estonia, Johnson said.
"I welcome Germany's statement that Nord Stream 2 would be reconsidered in the event of an incursion," he added.
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7am Paris time
Macron heads to Kyiv after Putin compromise vow
Macron's trip to the Ukrainian capital comes after Putin told him Russia would "do everything to find compromises that suit everyone", raising the prospect of a path to de-escalating the volatile situation.
Putin said several proposals put forward by Macron at talks on Monday could form a basis for moving forward on the crisis over Ukraine.
"A number of his ideas, proposals... are possible as a basis for further steps," Putin said after more than five hours of talks at the Kremlin.
He did not provide any details but said the two leaders would speak by phone after Macron meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The French president said he had made proposals of "concrete security guarantees" to Putin.
"There is no security for the Europeans if there is no security for Russia," Macron said.
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6:45am Paris time
Biden says will end Nord Stream 2 if Russia invades Ukraine
US President Joe Biden said late on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be stopped if Russia invades Ukraine and stressed unity with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as the West rallies to avert a war in Europe.
At a White House press conference with the new German leader, Biden, a longtime opponent of the decade-old, $11 billion pipeline project to Germany from Russia, said Russian forces crossing into Ukraine would trigger a shutdown.
"If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the ... border of Ukraine again, then there will be ... no longer a Nord Stream 2. We, we will bring an end to it," Biden said.
Asked how, given the project is in German control, Biden said: "I promise you, we'll be able to do it."
Scholz said the United States and Germany had the same approach to Ukraine, to Russia and to sanctions, but did not directly confirm the Nord Stream 2 plans or mention the pipeline publicly by name over the course of his day-long visit.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)
