The United States announced on Wednesday the deployment of several thousand troops to bolster NATO forces in eastern Europe as the leaders of Germany and France flagged trips to Moscow to address Western fears of an invasion of Ukraine.
The Pentagon said the deployment of nearly 3,000 American troops to eastern Europe in the coming days signalled US readiness to defend NATO allies amid tensions over a Russian military buildup near Ukraine.
Moscow promptly condemned the move. In a phone call with the UK's Boris Johnson, Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the Western alliance for refusing to address Russia's security concerns.
Read below to follow the day's events as they unfolded on our liveblog.
- 21:30 Paris (GMT+1)
Germany's Scholz to meet Putin in Moscow
More talk of diplomatic trips to the Kremlin, this time by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who says he will travel to Moscow to discuss the crisis on the Ukraine-Russia border.
"I will shortly go to the United States... and I will also soon go to Moscow for talks" on the crisis, Scholz said in an interview with Germany's ZDF broadcaster. The visit to the US had already been planned for February 7, but the chancellor did not give a date for the trip to Russia, only saying "an appointment is fixed and will take place soon".
- 20:07 Paris time (GMT+1)
Macron to speak to Biden, mulls Russia trip
France's President Emmanuel Macron has said he will speak "in the coming hours" to his US counterpart Joe Biden about the standoff over Ukraine. He also voiced the possibility of a trip Russia, adding that his plans would depend on progress made in upcoming telephone talks with world leaders.
"I do not exclude anything," Macron told reporters on a visit to Tourcoing in northern France, referring to the possibility of a trip to Russia to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
- 19:30 Paris time (GMT+1)
Putin: West unwilling to address Russia's security concerns
The Kremlin has given its take on the phone conversation between Putin and Johnson, saying that: "The unwillingness of NATO to adequately respond to the well-founded Russian concerns was noted."
Putin said NATO was "hiding behind" its open-door policy that "contradicts the fundamental principle of the indivisibility of security", the Kremlin said in a statement. It added that Putin accused Ukraine of the "chronic sabotage" of the Minsk peace agreements signed in 2015 between Kyiv and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.
- 19:10 Paris time (GMT+1)
Johnson to Putin: Ukraine incursion would be 'tragic miscalculation'
Britain's Boris Johnson has spoken to the Russian president on the phone and warned him against "further incursions" into Ukraine, his office said in a statement.
"The prime minister expressed his deep concern about Russia's current hostile activity on the Ukrainian border," the statement said. "The prime minister stressed that any further Russian incursion into Ukrainian territory would be a tragic miscalculation."
Before the call, which had been due to take place earlier in the week but was rescheduled as Johnson battles calls to resign at home, a Kremlin spokesman mocked the British leader and ridiculed the "stupidity and ignorance" of British politicians.
The call comes a day after Johnson travelled to Kyiv in a show of support for Ukraine's government.
- 18:39 Paris time (GMT+1)
Russia slams 'destructive steps'
A first reaction from Moscow, condemning the US troop deployment in eastern Europe.
"Not substantiated by anyone, destructive steps which increase military tension and reduce scope for political decisions," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said of the US deployments, in remarks carried by Interfax news agency.
- 18:15 Paris time (GMT+1)
NATO chief welcomes 'powerful signal of US commitment'
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed the US decision to deploy additional forces to eastern Europe, describing the alliance's deployments as "defensive and proportional".
"This is a powerful signal of US commitment, and comes on top of other recent U.S. contributions to our shared security – including 8,500 troops at high readiness for the NATO Response Force, and the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group under NATO command in the Mediterranean," Stoltenberg said in a statement.
"Our deployments are defensive and proportional, and send the clear message that NATO will do whatever is necessary to protect and defend all Allies," he added.
- 17:58 Paris time (GMT+1)
What troops are being deployed?
The US troop deployments announced today are in addition to the 8,500 troops the Pentagon put on alert last week to be ready to deploy to Europe if needed.
The Pentagon said a Stryker squadron of mechanized infantry forces comprising around 1,000 US service members based in Vilseck, Germany, will be sent to Romania. Meanwhile, around 1,700 service members, mainly from the 82nd Airborne Division, will deploy from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland. A further 300 other service members will move from Fort Bragg to Germany.
The 8,500 roops notified of ready-to-deploy orders last week included additional brigade combat teams, logistics personnel, medical support, aviation support and forces involved with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The Pentagon said they would be activated by NATO, if the need arises.
- 17:32 Paris time (GMT+1)
Putin says Washington using Ukraine 'as a tool'
Moscow has demanded a ban on Ukraine joining NATO and on the deployment of missile systems near Russia’s borders, as well as a pullback of the US-led military alliance's forces in eastern Europe.
In his first major remarks on the crisis in weeks, Putin on Tuesday suggested Washington was using Kyiv as an instrument to potentially drag Moscow into a war. "Ukraine itself is just a tool to achieve this goal" of containing Russia, Putin said, while leaving the door open to talks.
The Russian leader said he was studying written responses sent by the United States and NATO to Moscow's demands for security guarantees.
Spanish newspaper El Pais on Wednesday published what it said were leaked copies of the responses, which showed Washington and NATO offering Moscow arms control and trust-building measures. However, the proposals remain firm on insisting that Ukraine and any other country have a right to apply to join the alliance.
- 17:18 Paris time (GMT+1)
Red Cross flags dire conditions in eastern Ukraine
Hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Ukraine are living in dire conditions, with poor access to basic services and under constant threat from shelling and landmines, the Red Cross has said.
Ukraine has been battling Moscow-backed insurgencies in two separatist regions since 2014, when Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula. More than 13,000 people have been killed in the fighting, the last major ongoing war in Europe.
With countries now focused on the massing of Russian troops along Ukraine's borders, there is a serious risk of them ignoring the ongoing plight of people stuck since 2014 in the crossfire, Red Cross regional director Martin Schuepp said on Wednesday, citing the “direct effects of shooting, shelling and (...) casualties from mines and unexploded ordnance".
- 16:48 Paris time (GMT+1)
Pentagon welcomes French deployment to Romania
In his comments to the press, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby welcomed France's recent decision to deploy several hundred troops to Romania to strengthen NATO's eastern flank. French President Emmanuel Macron has recently expressed France's "readiness to go further, and within the framework of NATO to commit to new missions... in particular in Romania".
FRANCE 24's international affairs editor Philip Turle has more:
- 16:28 Paris time (GMT+1)
'Strong signal to Mr. Putin'
The US is to send extra troops to Europe this week amid continuing fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentangon has confirmed.
A source familiar with the details said 1,700 US troops would deploy from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to Poland and another 300 from the base to Germany. About 1,000 Germany-based troops would head to Romania, the source said.
The Pentagon said it was not ruling out additional deployments beyond those announced on Wednesday.
"It's important that we send a strong signal to Mr. Putin and, frankly, to the world that NATO matters to the United States and it matters to our allies," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
