France on Saturday urged its nationals to leave Ukraine as the OSCE Special Monitoring to Ukraine (SMM) said it had observed “dramatic increase in kinetic activity along the contact line in eastern Ukraine". The news came as Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to personally oversee previously scheduled military drills along Ukraine's borders. Read FRANCE 24's live coverage of the day's events as they unfolded.
US President Joe Biden said that the invasion would come in the next week or days, but Russia continues to say it has no plans to attack.
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9:50pm Paris time
Zelensky speaks with Macron
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone with the French President Emmanuel Macron. He said that during the "urgent" conversation they discussed ways to immediately de-escalate the crisis.
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9:45pm Paris time
Risk of a Russian invasion 'very high', says NATO chief
The signals coming out of Russia suggest that Moscow is readying for a "full-fledged attack" on Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Saturday, echoing US warnings of an imminent invasion.
"Every indication indicates that Russia is planning a full-fledged attack against Ukraine," Stoltenberg told German broadcaster ARD on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. "We all agree that the risk of an attack is very high."
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8:30pm Paris time
Highest number of ceasefire violations recorded in 2022
Observers from the OSCE European security body on Saturday reported more than 1,500 ceasefire violations in east Ukraine in a single day, the highest number this year.
In a report covering attacks on Friday, its monitors recorded 591 breaches in Donetsk and 975 violations in neighbouring Lugansk, two regions partly held by Russian-backed separatists.
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8:20pm Paris time
Ukraine receives military supplies from NATO allies
Ukraine has received a plane load of machine guns, surveillance gear and rifles as part of a Canadian military assistance package, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Saturday.
Ukraine has received plane loads of arms and military gear from NATO allies as the country braces for a possible military attack by Russia.
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7:30pm Paris time
World Bank prepares $350m disbursement to Ukraine
The World Bank Group is readying a $350 million disbursement to Ukraine that the group's board will consider before the end of March, according to a statement released on Saturday.
In a meeting with the Ukrainian president, World Bank President David Malpass said the group will continue to support the Ukrainian people and economy for short- and long-term financing needs.
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7:20pm Paris time
NATO relocates staff
NATO says that it has relocated Ukraine staff from Kyiv to Lviv and Brussels for safety reasons.
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5:15pm Paris time
G7 says no sign of reduced Russian activity near Ukraine
Foreign ministers from the G7 group of rich nations said on Saturday they saw no evidence that Russia is reducing military activity near Ukraine's borders and remain "gravely concerned" about the situation.
"We call on Russia to choose the path of diplomacy, to de-escalate tensions, to substantively withdraw military forces from the proximity of Ukraine's borders and to fully abide by international commitments," the countries said in a joint statement.
"We expect Russia to implement the announced reduction of its military activities along Ukraine's borders. We have seen no evidence of this reduction," they added.
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4:00pm Paris time
Shelling falls near Ukrainian minister on visit of frontline
A dozen mortar shells fell within a few hundred metres (yards) of Ukraine's interior minister on Saturday as he met journalists on a tour of the frontline with Russian-backed rebels.
The minister, Denys Monastyrskiy, was forced to seek cover as the shells exploded, shortly after he gave on camera interviews to international media, AFP correspondents saw.
There was no sign that anyone was hurt in the volley of shells. The journalists and officials left the area shortly afterwards.
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3:46pm Paris time
France urges its nationals to leave Ukraine
France urged its citizens to leave the regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine, and updated its travel advisory to recommend French citizens leave if they do not have urgent business in the country.
READ MORE: Ukraine is 'longing for peace' says Zelensky as tensions mount
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2:55pm Paris time
Germany urges nationals to leave Ukraine
Germany's foreign ministry on Saturday told German nationals to leave Ukraine now, as tensions between Russia and Ukraine increased further.
"German nationals are urged to leave the country now," the ministry said in a statement. "A military confrontation is possible at any time."
Other countries including Britain and the United States have also asked their nationals to depart immediately.
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2:29pm Paris time
Ukraine says mercenaries arrived in eastern Ukraine to stage provocations
Ukraine's military on Saturday said that mercenaries had arrived in separatist-held eastern Ukraine to stage provocations in collaboration with Russia's special services.
"The purpose of these provocations will, of course, be to accuse Ukraine of further escalation," the military said in a statement.
Ukraine has accused Russia of planning to stage provocations that could lead to civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine in order to give Moscow a pretext to attack its neighbour.
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1:05pm Paris time
‘Shelling all along the frontline’ in eastern Ukraine
Reporting from Kyiv, FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg said there has been a significant increase in shelling in Ukraine's eastern region in recent days.
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12:18pm Paris time
Russia launches hypersonic missiles as part of nuclear drills
Russia hit sea and land-based targets with ballistic and cruise missiles as part of strategic nuclear exercises overseen by President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, the Kremlin said in a statement.
The annual exercises featured launches of Kinzhal and Tsirkon hypersonic missiles and a number of other weapons, according to the Kremlin.
"All the missiles hit their targets, confirming their performance objectives," the statement noted, adding that the drills included Tu-95 bombers as well as submarines
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11:45am Paris time
Lithuanian foreign minister calls for stronger Baltic defence
Lithuania's foreign minister called on Saturday for a stronger military defence of the Baltic states as well as Poland amid fears in the region of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"We have to be serious not about deterrence but about defence, we have to be ready to defend Baltic states and Poland," Gabrielius Landsbergis told a joint news conference with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Vilnius.
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08:58am Paris time
Ukrainian military says soldier killed in separatist east
A Ukrainian soldier was killed Saturday in clashes with Moscow-backed rebels in the separatist east, the army said, as fears grow that Russia is preparing to invade.
"As a result of a shelling attack, one Ukrainian soldier received a fatal shrapnel wound," the joint military command for east Ukraine reported.
The announcement came hours after leaders of Ukraine's two breakaway regions announced a general mobilisation.
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08:47am Paris time
Putin to speak to Macron on Sunday, says Kremlin
President Putin will hold a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, according to the Kremlin, as tensions spike in the crisis over Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the call was "on the president's schedule" for Sunday.
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07:52am Paris time
Ukraine rebel leader announces 'general mobilisation'
The leader of the east Ukraine breakaway region of Donetsk has announced a general mobilisation in a video statement.
"I urge my fellow citizens who are in the reserves to come to military conscription offices. Today I signed a decree on general mobilisation," said Denis Pushilin, the leader of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.
Pushilin claimed his region's forces had prevented attacks he said were planned by Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian army had continued attacks.
"Together, we will achieve for all of us the victory we desire and need. We will protect Donbas and all Russian people," Pushilin added.
Kyiv has repeatedly denied any plans to regain control of separatist-held areas using force, including the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
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07:35am Paris time
Ukraine reports 12 ceasefire violations by separatists this morning
The Ukrainian military said it recorded 12 ceasefire violations by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine on Saturday morning after 66 cases over the previous 24 hours.
Separatists opened fire on more than 20 settlements, using heavy artillery, which have been prohibited by Minsk agreements, the military said on its Facebook page.
Incidents of shelling across the line dividing government forces and separatists increased sharply this week, in what the Ukrainian government called a provocation. It strongly denied suggestions by Russia that Kyiv could launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine.
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6:37am Paris time
Harris to push for Western unity at Munich Security Conference
US Vice President Kamala Harris was expected to use a highly anticipated speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday to warn Russia that it will face huge financial costs if it further invades Ukraine, while underscoring that an invasion will only draw European allies closer to the US.
Harris is set to make the case to a largely European audience that the West has “strength through unity” and that an invasion would likely lead to an even bigger NATO footprint on Russia’s doorsteps, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on Harris’ diplomatic efforts in Munich and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Harris on Friday declared "our greatest strength is our unity” as she met with the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the sidelines of the conference. The Baltic countries have requested the US increase its troop presence on the eastern edge of NATO. “This is a moment that has made that clear: that our unity is evidence and is a measure of our strength.”
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5:20am Paris time
Russia rejects claims it was responsible for cyberattack on Ukraine
Moscow has rejected US allegations that it was responsible for cyberattacks on Ukrainian banking and government websites as baseless, the Russian embassy in the United States said on Twitter.
"We categorically reject these baseless statements of the administration and note that Russia has nothing to do with the mentioned events and in principle has never conducted and does not conduct any 'malicious' operations in cyberspace," it said.
US Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger said on Friday that Russian military intelligence was behind the recent spate of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that briefly knocked Ukrainian banking and government websites offline.
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02:35am Paris time
OSCE monitors report 'dramatic increase' in ceasefire violations
Observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said Saturday they had seen a significant rise in the number of attacks along the frontline in eastern Ukraine.
"In recent days, the OSCE Special Monitoring to Ukraine (SMM) has observed a dramatic increase in kinetic activity along the contact line in eastern Ukraine," the OSCE said in a statement, adding that the number of ceasefire violations was equal to numbers reported before a July 2020 agreement to strengthen the ceasefire.
The OSCE reported there had been 222 ceasefire violations for the Donetsk region on Thursday, including 135 explosions, up from 189 the previous day and 24 on Tuesday.
For the Lugansk region, it reported 648 violations, including 519 explosions, up from 402 the previous day and 129 on Tuesday.
The monitor called on both sides "to strictly adhere to all of the commitments they have made, and take all necessary steps to reduce tensions and work towards immediate de-escalation for the benefit of the lives of innocent civilians," the statement said.
The OSCE, which includes Russia and the United States as member states, deployed its peace-monitoring mission in Ukraine in 2014 following Moscow's annexation of Crimea. The armed conflict between Kyiv and pro-Russia separatists in the country's east has claimed more than 14,000 lives.
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00:54am Paris time
Biden says Putin will invade 'in the coming days'
US President Joe Biden has said he is convinced President Putin has decided to launch an invasion of Ukraine, and that an assault could happen in the "coming days".
"We have reason to believe the Russian forces are planning to and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week, in the coming days," Biden told reporters at the White House, adding that Kyiv would be a target.
"As of this moment, I am convinced that he has made the decision."
Biden reiterated his threat of massive economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia if it does invade, and pressed Putin to rethink his course of action. He said the US and its Western allies were more united than ever to ensure Russia pays a price for the invasion.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
