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(NEW YORK) — The United States is warning that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day” amid escalating tensions in the region.

As many as 150,000 Russian troops are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders and U.S. officials have urged all Americans to leave Ukraine as well as neighboring Belarus and part of Moldvoa.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that the nation was shuttering its embassy in Kyiv and “temporarily” relocating the small group of diplomats left in Ukraine to the western city of Lviv, citing the “rapid acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces.”

But Ukrainian officials have said they do not see signs of a Russian attack as soon as Wednesday — the date reportedly given to NATO allies — and called for a day of unity instead.

Russia has demanded the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the military alliance and pull back troops from Eastern European member states, while denying it has plans to invade Ukraine.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Feb 15, 11:28 am
Blinken talks with Russian counterpart

In a signal that the door to diplomacy could remain open, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov spoke again Tuesday morning, according to a senior State Department official.

The two had already spoken on Saturday and agreed to connect again in the coming days, the official said, as the two governments have delivered mixed messages on the extent of Russia’s military presence and intent on Ukraine’s border.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden had a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a White House official, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has departed Washington for Brussels for NATO meetings.

-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan and Sarah Kolinovsky

Feb 15, 11:08 am
Putin comments on ‘partial withdrawal’ of Russian troops

Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on what he called Russia’s “partial withdrawal” of troops near Ukraine on Tuesday, one day after Pentagon officials said Russia had sent even more troops to the border region over the last 24 to 48 hours.

Putin delivered mixed messages at a press conference in Moscow, suggesting he does not consider the crisis to be resolved as Russia’s key demand that Ukraine is barred from joining NATO has not been met. But he also said there were items in the U.S. responses “to discuss,” specifically noting Russia is ready to talk about the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which the Trump administration withdrew from, among other “military confidence-building measures.”

“We want to resolve this question right now. In the nearest future, in the course of the negotiating process, with peaceful means,” Putin said.

Asked about some Russian troops pulling back on Tuesday, Putin hinted there could still be room for escalation but added, “we will strive to agree on the issues which have been put forward by us using the diplomatic path.”

“How will Russia act next? According to plan!” he said.

-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell

Feb 15, 10:23 am
Putin reacts to Russian parliament vote to recognize Donbas

Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated Tuesday that he will not immediately recognize two Russian-controlled breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.

Putin said he believes the idea has the support of the majority of Russians but that he thinks Russia should continue to try to resolve the conflict with Ukraine through the Minsk peace agreements.

The Minsk accords signed in 2014 and 2015 were aimed at ending the ongoing conflict between the Ukrainian army and the Russian-backed separatists forces in an area of southeastern Ukraine known as the Donbas. But Putin’s recognition of the regions would amount to Russia formally withdrawing from the agreement.

Putin’s comments suggest that while he doesn’t intend to immediately move to recognize the regions, he might keep the action as a threat hanging over negotiations with Ukraine and the West. He painted the parliament vote as the expression of lawmakers rather than something directed by the Kremlin.

“We must do everything to resolve the problems in Donbas but, as before, starting from the possibilities from the Minsk agreement that have not been realized to their end,” Putin said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the leader of one of the regions welcomed the Russian parliament vote but fell short of calling on Putin to take the step.

“We thank the deputies of the State Duma for the results of today’s vote,” Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said in a statement Tuesday. “With that, we will treat with respect and understanding any decision taken by the top leadership of the Russian Federation.”

Pushilin called the initiative “timely,” given what he claimed was the threat from Ukraine, which he alleged was massing troops near the regions and showed Kyiv has no intention of fulfilling the Minsk agreements or resolving the conflict peacefully.

-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell

Feb 15, 9:19 am
US assessing Russia’s claim of withdrawing some troops

The United States is assessing Russia’s claim that it is withdrawing some troops from Ukraine’s borders, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said Tuesday.

During a press briefing at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Smith cast some doubt on the claim after Russia made similar statements in late December.

“All I can say is we’ll have to verify that and take a look,” Smith told reporters. “We want to make sure we understand what they’re talking about when they say de-escalation, and we want to verify that that is in fact what’s happening. So stand by, we’ll obviously take a look at that.”

When asked again whether some Russian forces were in fact pulling back, Smith reiterated: “I can’t say yes or no. I can’t say really anything about it at this moment because this is something that we’ll have to look at closely and verify in the days ahead.”

NATO’s defense ministers, including U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, will meet Wednesday to discuss deployments within the military alliance and a “variety of contingencies,” according to Smith, who noted that NATO “will continue to determine whether or not additional enhancements might be necessary.”

While any Russian troop withdrawals could be a sign of de-escalation, the law passed Tuesday in Russia’s parliament calling on President Vladimir Putin to recognize Russian-controlled breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent would be a “new shift in the escalation,” Smith said, adding that the U.S. and NATO “would monitor that very closely” and determine its response.

“If they proceed with this, then I think it’s a clear violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and its sovereignty, and it’s also a violation of the Minsk agreement,” she told reporters, “and so that would obviously be a new shift in the escalation.”

As the U.S. and NATO await Russia’s written proposals on issues like arms control and military exercises, Smith again called on Russia to engage meaningfully in talks.

“Look, we can spend the rest of the year going back and forth exchanging letters,” she said, “but really what’s important is the best way to proceed would be for us to sit down at the table again.”

Until then, Smith said they do not know what Putin will decide.

“We do not understand fundamentally — none of us do — what is inside President Putin’s head,” she added, “and so we cannot make any guess about where all of this is headed.”

Feb 15, 8:32 am
NATO: No sign yet of Russian de-escalation

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that the military alliance has “not seen any signs of reduced Russian military presence on the borders of Ukraine.”

“So far, we have not seen any de-escalation on the ground,” Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels. “But we will continue to monitor and to follow closely what Russia is doing, and the signs coming from Moscow about a willingness to continue to engage in diplomatic efforts — that gives some reason for cautious optimism. But we will, of course, follow very closely what’s happening on the ground and whether this is reflected in some real de-escalation of the Russian military build-up in and around Ukraine.”

Feb 15, 8:20 am
US warns of Russian cyberattack alongside Ukraine invasion

Top cybersecurity officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have warned of potential attacks on American cyber infrastructure in concert with a physical invasion of Ukraine, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The source told ABC News that the warning came Monday on a call with state and local officials — but it’s not new. On Friday, the Homeland Security Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) explicitly warned of Russian cyberattacks and made a veiled mention of the ongoing geopolitical climate.

“The Russian government has used cyber as a key component of their force projection over the last decade, including previously in Ukraine in the 2015 timeframe,” the CISA said in an online post. “The Russian government understands that disabling or destroying critical infrastructure—including power and communications—can augment pressure on a country’s government, military and population and accelerate their acceding to Russian objectives.”

U.S. officials have said a Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen “at any time” and that they believe Ukraine could also be a target of an offensive cyberattack. Ukraine has already been the target of what some Ukrainian officials believed was a Russian cyberattack earlier this year, when suspected Russian hackers defaced Ukrainian government websites.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been warning in bulletins as early as January that there could be a cyberattack tied to a possible Russian invasion.

Feb 15, 7:02 am
Russia’s parliament asks Putin to recognize breakaway regions in Ukraine

Russia’s parliament voted for a law on Tuesday that calls on President Vladimir Putin to recognize two Russian-controlled breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.

The measure is a formal appeal to Putin to recognize the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, in an area of southeastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, where Russian-backed separatists forces have been battling the Ukrainian army since 2014.

Such recognition would open a path for Russia to formally annex the two regions as it did the Crimean Peninsula almost eight years ago. It’s now up to Putin to decide whether to go through with it.

Two bills were initially put forward for a vote in Russia’s parliament — one by the Communist Party and the other by Putin’s ruling United Russia. The first would have the request sent to the president immediately, while the second would have sought consultations with the foreign ministry and other government agencies before appealing directly to Putin. Ultimately, parliament voted for the first bill.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office called the vote an “escalatory action.” Ukraine’s foreign ministry has warned that it will consider Russia recognizing the separatist regions as a withdrawal from the Minsk peace agreement reached in 2015, which was supposed to end the conflict in Donbas that broke out a year earlier.

Feb 15, 5:41 am
Ukraine reacts to Russia announcing withdrawal: ‘We’ll believe it when we see it’

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba reacted to Russia’s announcement Tuesday that it is withdrawing some troops from the border, saying his country will “believe it when we see it.”

“There are constantly various statements coming from the Russian Federation, so we have a rule: we’ll believe it when we see it,” Kuleba said during a televised briefing Tuesday. “When we see the withdrawal, we’ll believe in de-escalation.”

Feb 15, 5:25 am
Russia says some troops will return to base

Some Russian troops positioned near the border with Ukraine will begin returning to their bases Tuesday after completing “exercises,” according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The units set to return are from Russia’s Southern and Western Military Districts, the defense ministry said Tuesday. But there are troops from other military districts massed on the border. Still, if some troops do pull back, it would potentially be a key signal that the crisis with Ukraine will not escalate.

Russian state media then released video purportedly showing tank troops loading up in neighboring Belarus to return home as well as tanks in southwestern Russia moving back. A spokesperson for Russia’s Southern Military District told state media Tuesday that some personnel have begun leaving Crimea for their permanent bases following the completion of drills.

In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and established two federal subjects there, the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. But the international community still recognizes the territories as being part of Ukraine.

Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that the military exercises would end “in the near future.” There are still drills being conducted in neighboring Belarus as well as the Black Sea that are due to end Feb. 20.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a post on her official Facebook page on Tuesday that Feb. 15 “will go down in history as the day the Western propoganda war failed.”

“Disgraced and destroyed without a single shot fired,” Zakharova added.

Feb 15, 4:29 am
White House warns invasion could start ‘at any time’

While the United States believes a path of diplomacy remains “open” to Russia, a White House official warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine “could begin at any time.”

Answering a question from ABC News’ Cecilia Vega during a press briefing Monday, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. government is so far seeing “more and more” Russian troops arrive on the border with Ukraine.

“In the past 10 days or so, when you look at what is happening at the border of Ukraine, there, we are seeing more than 100,000 troops there and it’s just been an every day more and more troops,” Jean-Pierre said.

“So we are certainly open to having conversations and seeing a de-escalation,” she added. “That door is open for diplomacy and this is up to President Putin. He has to make that decision. It is his decision to make on which direction he wants to take this.”

Jean-Pierre noted that “it remains unclear which path Russia will choose to take.”

When asked about the imminency of the situation, she said: “We are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time.”

“I’m not going to comment on the intelligence information,” she added, “except to say that it could begin this week.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KYIV, Ukraine) — Russia’s military has said some troops massed near Ukraine will begin returning to base on Tuesday following the completion of what it called “exercises,” in a potential sign of de-escalation amid continuing fears of a possible Russian invasion.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said units from its southern and western military districts, which have deployed thousands of troops close to Ukraine’s border, had begun returning to barracks. Video released by the military showed what it said was tanks pulling back and being loaded onto rail transports. A spokesman for Russia’s southern military district also said its servicemen had also begun leaving Crimea, where Russia has built up a large force.

United States and Ukrainian officials, as well as independent experts, though cautioned that it was still to be seen whether the Russian forces will now really leave and how many. Major Russian exercises are still continuing in neighboring Belarus to the north of Ukraine and in the Black Sea.

Ukraine’s foreign minister said officials would believe the Russian withdrawal “when we see it.”

Hopes that Russia might be moving to de-escalate were dimmed by Russia’s parliament which on Tuesday voted to pass a law calling on President Vladimir Putin to recognize two Russian-controlled breakaway regions of Ukraine as independent. The law appeals to Putin to recognize the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk” in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian statelets that were created with Moscow’s backing and troops during fighting in 2014. Separatist forces, backed up by Russian troops, have continued to fight a low intensity war with the Ukrainian government along a static frontline since then.

The move to recognize the regions would open a path to Russia formally annexing the regions, as it did Crimea eight years ago, a step that would likely trigger more Western sanctions and further escalate the crisis. The vote now puts the decision in Putin’s hands, who can decide whether to go through with it.

The parliament’s speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, said the appeal would be sent to Putin “immediately.”

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the issue was “highly, highly relevant in Russian society” but told reporters not to get ahead of themselves, as “no decisions have been taken.”

The vote was denounced in Ukraine, with an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling it an “escalatory action.” The advisor, Mikhailo Podolyak, said if Putin went ahead it would amount to Russia’s formal exit from the Minsk agreements, the stalled 2015 peace deal aimed at ending the war in eastern Ukraine.

The U.S. and other western countries have warned this week that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could come this week and U.S. officials Tuesday said they would wait to see if Russia really does now pull back its forces, warning they consider Ukraine still to be inside the window for a potential attack.

Satellite images and videos spotted on social media by open source researchers over the weekend and Monday showed Russian forces continuing to move closer to Ukraine, with some units taking up what experts said appeared to be forward positions. The U.S. on Monday announced it was closing down its embassy in Kyiv and moving key diplomats to Lviv in western Ukraine amid an “accelerated” build up by Russian forces.

The Russian announcement that it was pulling back some forces came a day after Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu briefed Putin that Russia’s huge military drills would end in the “near future.”

Shoigu told Putin that “part of the drills are approaching their completion, and part would be completed in the near future.”

Russia has always denied it has any intention to attack Ukraine using the over 100,000 troops it has massed near its border. Russia has painted warnings from the U.S. and other Western countries that it may be preparing to launch an invasion as “hysteria.”

A spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that the day would prove the Western warnings had been unfounded.

Tuesday “will go down in history as the day the Western propaganda war failed. Disgraced and destroyed without a shot being fired,” the spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, wrote on her Facebook.

Military exercises on an unprecedented scale are continuing in Belarus and are due to end on Feb. 20.

Putin hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks at the Kremlin on Tuesday, as Western countries continue intensive diplomacy to try to avert a war.

The U.S. has warned that Russia could launch an invasion of Ukraine this week, reportedly briefing NATO allies last week that it had intelligence the attack could come as early as Wednesday.

Ukraine’s government has expressed more skepticism that Russia is ready to attack this week, suggesting it believes the massive Russian build up is intended to pressure Ukraine with the threat of invasion. Zelenskyy, in a televised address Monday night, told Ukrainians he was declaring Wednesday, the alleged day of a possible Russian attack, a national holiday.

Zelenskyy’s national security advisor, Oleksiy Danilov, told Ukrainian television Monday night that Ukraine did not see signs Russia is preparing to attack on Feb. 16 or 17.

“We recognize all the risks that there are for our country. But the situation is absolutely under control,” he said. “More than that, we today do not see that a broad-scale invasion from Russia can happen on either 16th or 17th February. We do not see that.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The United States is warning that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day” amid escalating tensions in the region.

As many as 150,000 Russian troops are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders and U.S. officials have urged all Americans to leave the country.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that the country was shuttering its embassy in Kyiv and “temporarily” relocating the small group of diplomats left in Ukraine to the western city of Lviv, citing the “rapid acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces.”

But Ukrainian officials have said they do not see signs of a Russian attack as soon as Wednesday — the date reportedly given to NATO allies — and called for a day of unity instead.

Russia has demanded the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the military alliance and pull back troops from Eastern European member states, while denying it has plans to invade Ukraine.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Feb 15, 7:02 am
Russia’s parliament asks Putin to recognize breakaway regions in Ukraine

Russia’s parliament voted for a law on Tuesday that calls on President Vladimir Putin to recognize two Russian-controlled breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.

The measure is a formal appeal to Putin to recognize the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, in an area of southeastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, where Russian-backed separatists forces have been battling the Ukrainian army since 2014.

Such recognition would open a path for Russia to formally annex the two regions as it did the Crimean Peninsula almost eight years ago. It’s now up to Putin to decide whether to go through with it.

Two bills were initially put forward for a vote in Russia’s parliament — one by the Communist Party and the other by Putin’s ruling United Russia. The first would have the request sent to the president immediately, while the second would have sought consultations with the foreign ministry and other government agencies before appealing directly to Putin. Ultimately, parliament voted for the first bill.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office called the vote an “escalatory action.” Ukraine’s foreign ministry has warned that it will consider Russia recognizing the separatist regions as a withdrawal from the Minsk peace agreement reached in 2015, which was supposed to end the conflict in Donbas that broke out a year earlier.

Feb 15, 5:41 am
Ukraine reacts to Russia announcing withdrawal: ‘We’ll believe it when we see it’

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba reacted to Russia’s announcement Tuesday that it is withdrawing some troops from the border, saying his country will “believe it when we see it.”

“There are constantly various statements coming from the Russian Federation, so we have a rule: we’ll believe it when we see it,” Kuleba said during a televised briefing Tuesday. “When we see the withdrawal, we’ll believe in de-escalation.”

Feb 15, 5:25 am
Russia says some troops will return to base

Some Russian troops positioned near the border with Ukraine will begin returning to their bases Tuesday after completing “exercises,” according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The units set to return are from Russia’s Southern and Western Military Districts, the defense ministry said Tuesday. But there are troops from other military districts massed on the border. Still, if some troops do pull back, it would potentially be a key signal that the crisis with Ukraine will not escalate.

Russian state media then released video purportedly showing tank troops loading up in neighboring Belarus to return home as well as tanks in southwestern Russia moving back. A spokesperson for Russia’s Southern Military District told state media Tuesday that some personnel have begun leaving Crimea for their permanent bases following the completion of drills.

In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and established two federal subjects there, the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. But the international community still recognizes the territories as being part of Ukraine.

Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that the military exercises would end “in the near future.” There are still drills being conducted in neighboring Belarus as well as the Black Sea that are due to end Feb. 20.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a post on her official Facebook page on Tuesday that Feb. 15 “will go down in history as the day the Western propoganda war failed.”

“Disgraced and destroyed without a single shot fired,” Zakharova added.

Feb 15, 4:29 am
White House warns invasion could start ‘at any time’

While the United States believes a path of diplomacy remains “open” to Russia, a White House official warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine “could begin at any time.”

Answering a question from ABC News’ Cecilia Vega during a press briefing Monday, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. government is so far seeing “more and more” Russian troops arrive on the border with Ukraine.

“In the past 10 days or so, when you look at what is happening at the border of Ukraine, there, we are seeing more than 100,000 troops there and it’s just been an every day more and more troops,” Jean-Pierre said.

“So we are certainly open to having conversations and seeing a de-escalation,” she added. “That door is open for diplomacy and this is up to President Putin. He has to make that decision. It is his decision to make on which direction he wants to take this.”

Jean-Pierre noted that “it remains unclear which path Russia will choose to take.”

When asked about the imminency of the situation, she said: “We are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time.”

“I’m not going to comment on the intelligence information,” she added, “except to say that it could begin this week.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KYIV, Ukraine) — Russia’s military has said some troops massed near Ukraine will begin returning to base on Tuesday following the completion of what it called “exercises,” in a potential sign of de-escalation amid fears of a possible Russian invasion.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said units from its southern and western military districts, which have deployed thousands of troops close to Ukraine’s border, had begun returning to barracks. Video released by the military showed what it said was tanks pulling back.

A spokesman for Russia’s southern military district said its servicemen had also begun leaving Crimea, where Russia has built up a large force.

Ukrainian officials and independent experts cautioned that it was still to be seen whether the Russian forces really leave and how many of them do so. Major Russian exercises are still continuing in neighboring Belarus to the north of Ukraine and in the Black Sea.

Ukraine’s foreign minister said officials would believe the Russian withdrawal “when we see it.”

“There are constantly various statements coming out of the Russian Federation, so we have a rule: We’ll believe it when we see it,” Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a daily briefing. “When we see the withdrawal, we will believe in the de-escalation.”

The pullback announcement came a day after Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu briefed President Vladimir Putin that Russia’s huge military drills would end in the “near future.”

Shoigu told Putin that “part of the drills are approaching their completion, and part would be completed in the near future.”

Russia has always denied it has any intention to attack Ukraine using the over 100,000 troops it has massed near its border. Russia has painted warnings from the U.S. and other Western countries that it may be preparing to launch an invasion as “hysteria.”

A spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that the day would prove the Western warnings had been unfounded.

Tuesday “will go down in history as the day the Western propaganda war failed. Disgraced and destroyed without a shot being fired,” the spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, wrote on her Facebook.

Military exercises on an unprecedented scale are continuing in Belarus and are due to end on Feb. 20.

Putin is hosting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks at the Kremlin on Tuesday, as Western countries continue intensive diplomacy to try to avert a war.

The U.S. has warned that Russia could launch an invasion of Ukraine this week, reportedly briefing NATO allies last week that it had intelligence the attack could come as early as Wednesday.

Ukraine’s government has expressed more skepticism that Russia is ready to attack this week, suggesting it believes the massive Russian build up is intended to pressure Ukraine with the threat of invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy, in a televised address Monday night, told Ukrainians he was declaring Wednesday, the alleged day of a possible Russian attack, a national holiday.

Zelenskyy’s national security advisor, Oleksiy Danilov, told Ukrainian television Monday night that Ukraine did not see signs Russia is preparing to attack on Feb. 16 or 17.

“We recognize all the risks that there are for our country. But the situation is absolutely under control,” he said. “More than that, we today do not see that a broad-scale invasion from Russia can happen on either 16th or 17th February. We do not see that.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The State Department has escalated its warning to U.S. citizens in Belarus, where thousands of Russian troops have massed for menacing military exercises — now urging them to leave the country “immediately.”

The stark new warning comes as U.S. officials fear a possible Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine could unfold in the coming days, prompting the State Department to shutter its embassy facility in the capital Kyiv and relocate them to the western city Lviv.

Belarus and Russia launched military exercises Thursday, bringing thousands of Russian troops and advanced weaponry and equipment to the landlocked country that borders both Russia and Ukraine. Its strongman leader, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, has drawn increasingly closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin after cracking down on political opposition, fomenting a migrant crisis in Europe and facing tough Western sanctions.

The State Department had already urged American citizens “do not travel to Belarus” because of that domestic crackdown and the risk of “arbitrary enforcement of laws” and detention, as well as COVID-19.

But in a new advisory Monday evening, it added a warning about the “unusual and concerning Russian military buildup along Belarus’ border with Ukraine” and added, “U.S. citizens in Belarus should depart immediately via commercial or private means.”

The “situation is unpredictable, and there is heightened tension in the region,” the advisory states, mirroring the increasingly urgent tone from the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, which urged Americans on Saturday to “depart immediately” as well.

The warning also noted, “The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Belarus is already severely limited due to Belarusian government limitations on U.S. Embassy staffing.”

The embassy in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, had previously ordered the departure of family members on Jan. 31, with a very small group of U.S. diplomats still in the country.

In addition, the State Department is urging Americans to “depart immediately” from Transnistria, which is part of Moldova — the landlocked country on Ukraine’s southwestern border.

The urgent warning doesn’t apply to the entire country, but just to Transnistria, an unrecognized breakaway region where Russia has stationed troops against the Moldovan government’s will as “peacekeepers,” similar to Russian troops in two disputed regions of Georgia, the small former Soviet republic.

Like Belarus, Moldova had been on the State Department’s Level 4: “Do Not Travel” list because of COVID-19, but now in its new advisory, it warns of the “unusual and concerning Russian military activity around Ukraine, and the unresolved conflict between the breakaway region of Transnistria and the central government; U.S. citizens in Transnistria should depart immediately.”

U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have repeatedly referenced Transnistria during the current crisis as another example of Russia’s aggression in the region in recent years, along with Georgia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials went even further last month. Its defense intelligence agency said it had evidence that Russia was planning a false flag provocation against its own soldiers in Transnistria to justify an invasion of Ukraine — an accusation the Russian government denied.

The Biden administration has said it will not use the U.S. military to help evacuate American citizens if war breaks out in the region — with the memory of Afghanistan hanging over them. That historic, chaotic operation ultimately evacuated some 124,000 people, but the State Department has made clear it was not a precedent.

Instead, the U.S. has used increasingly dire warnings to private Americans in Ukraine, and now Belarus and Transnistria, to leave now while commercial flight options or land border crossings are available.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The United States is warning that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day” amid escalating tensions in the region.

As many as 150,000 Russian troops are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders and U.S. officials have urged all Americans to leave the country.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that the country was shuttering its embassy in Kyiv and “temporarily” relocating the small group of diplomats left in Ukraine to the western city of Lviv, citing the “rapid acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces.”

But Ukrainian officials have said they do not see signs of a Russian attack as soon as Wednesday — the date reportedly given to NATO allies — and called for a day of unity instead.

Russia has demanded the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the military alliance and pull back troops from Eastern European member states, while denying it has plans to invade Ukraine.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Feb 15, 5:41 am
Ukraine reacts to Russia announcing withdrawal: ‘We’ll believe it when we see it’

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba reacted to Russia’s announcement Tuesday that it is withdrawing some troops from the border, saying his country will “believe it when we see it.”

“There are constantly various statements coming from the Russian Federation, so we have a rule: we’ll believe it when we see it,” Kuleba said during a televised briefing Tuesday. “When we see the withdrawal, we’ll believe in de-escalation.”

Feb 15, 5:25 am
Russia says some troops will return to base

Some Russian troops positioned near the border with Ukraine will begin returning to their bases Tuesday after completing “exercises,” according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The units set to return are from Russia’s Southern and Western Military Districts, the defense ministry said Tuesday. But there are troops from other military districts massed on the border. Still, if some troops do pull back, it would potentially be a key signal that the crisis with Ukraine will not escalate.

Russian state media then released video purportedly showing tank troops loading up in neighboring Belarus to return home as well as tanks in southwestern Russia moving back. A spokesperson for Russia’s Southern Military District told state media Tuesday that some personnel have begun leaving Crimea for their permanent bases following the completion of drills.

In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and established two federal subjects there, the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. But the international community still recognizes the territories as being part of Ukraine.

Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that the military exercises would end “in the near future.” There are still drills being conducted in neighboring Belarus as well as the Black Sea that are due to end Feb. 20.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a post on her official Facebook page on Tuesday that Feb. 15 “will go down in history as the day the Western propoganda war failed.”

“Disgraced and destroyed without a single shot fired,” Zakharova added.

Feb 15, 4:29 am
White House warns invasion could start ‘at any time’

While the United States believes a path of diplomacy remains “open” to Russia, a White House official warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine “could begin at any time.”

Answering a question from ABC News’ Cecilia Vega during a press briefing Monday, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. government is so far seeing “more and more” Russian troops arrive on the border with Ukraine.

“In the past 10 days or so, when you look at what is happening at the border of Ukraine, there, we are seeing more than 100,000 troops there and it’s just been an every day more and more troops,” Jean-Pierre said.

“So we are certainly open to having conversations and seeing a de-escalation,” she added. “That door is open for diplomacy and this is up to President Putin. He has to make that decision. It is his decision to make on which direction he wants to take this.”

Jean-Pierre noted that “it remains unclear which path Russia will choose to take.”

When asked about the imminency of the situation, she said: “We are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time.”

“I’m not going to comment on the intelligence information,” she added, “except to say that it could begin this week.”

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(NEW YORK) — Researchers in Africa have discovered a way to weaken large criminal networks responsible for the poaching that threatens vulnerable species all over the continent.

DNA from the tusks of 4,320 African savanna elephants has identified networks for trafficking ivory out of Africa, according to a study published in Nature Human Behavior Monday.

The authors of the study, University of Washington biologist Samuel Wasser and Nairobi Homeland Security Investigations assistant attaché John Brown III, were able to use previous work that identified tusks from the same elephant — as well as close relatives — found in different seizures, therefore revealing links between those shipments and their movements across the country.

The findings showed that the majority of the 49 large ivory seizures (totaling 122 tons) shipped out of Africa between 2002 and 2019 contained tusks from repeated poaching of the same elephant populations.

“It was astounding, what we found,” Wasser told reporters. “Literally, we had dozens of shipments that were simply connected by multiple familial matches.”

The data also showed how “big, transnational” criminal networks may be behind the majority of these crimes and the strategic movements of criminal networks between ports in Africa, Wasser said, describing previous efforts to identify these networks as playing “whack-a-mole.”

The source of the poaching over the study period was “constant,” with many of the organized crime rings operating for decades, Wasser said.

Nearly all of the shipments, smuggled in large volumes as marine cargo, came from two places: an area concentrated in East Africa and another concentrated in Central West Africa, Wasser said. The smuggling process was similar to those used by the mafia and drug cartel in South Africa, Brown told reporters.

Ivory seizures — large shipments of tusks seized by authorities — provide information that can help law enforcement to understand the activities of traffickers. Previous work has identified tusks from the same elephant found in different seizures.

The African forest elephant is listed as critically endangered and the African savanna elephant is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. About 415,000 elephants of both species combined are left on the continent.

Combating the illegal ivory trade by lowering the demand in ivory destination markets such as Europe and Asia has been instrumental in mitigating population declines, Dr. Kathleen Gobush, lead assessor of the African elephants and member of the IUCN SSC African Elephant Specialist Group, told ABC News last year.

Understanding the connections between ivory seizures could strengthen prosecutions of suspected poachers, ensuring they are held responsible for their crimes and helping to further halt criminal networks.

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(WINDSOR, Ontario) — The bridge in Canada where thousands of semitruck drivers camped out in a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates has reopened, according to officials.

The blockade of commercial trailers on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the city of Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, Michigan, ended peacefully Sunday with no violence after police described many protesters exhibiting “aggressive, illegal behavior” on Saturday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told ABC News.

The bridge reopened late Sunday night, the Detroit International Bridge Company announced.

“Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador bridge came to an end,” Dilkens wrote in a statement. “Border crossings will reopen when it is safe to do so and I defer to police and border agencies to make that determination.”

On Saturday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa Police Service responded to the volatile scene on Saturday, where several hundred protesters planted themselves about 100 feet from the foot of the entry to the bridge, even as all of the trucks left the scene throughout the day in the face of a police crackdown.

A judge had ordered Friday that the protesters disperse after the demonstrations interrupted the flow of goods between the two countries, especially crippling the auto industry on both sides of the border. Truckers were re-routed to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.

Between 25 and 30 people were arrested on criminal mischief charges on Saturday, Windsor Police Chief Pam Mizuno announced.

Dilkens wrote that while the nation of Canada “believes in the right to freedom of speech and expression,” those exercising those rights must also abide by the law.

“As Canadians, there is more that unites us, than divides us and we must all find the resolve to approach those who hold different views with tolerance and respect,” Dilkens said. “Illegal acts, blockades and hate speech must not be tolerated and should be denounced.”

Thousands of truckers have been protesting the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for weeks as part of what is being called the “Freedom Convoy.” The number of demonstrators reached as many as 4,000 over the weekend.

The protests began in Canada’s capital city last month after truckers began protesting the requirement for them to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to cross the U.S.-Canada border.

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(WINDSOR, Ontario) — The bridge in Canada where thousands of semi truck drivers have camped out in a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates may reopen Sunday night, according to officials.

The blockade of commercial trailers on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the city of Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, ended peacefully Sunday with no violence after police described many protesters exhibiting “aggressive, illegal behavior” on Saturday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told ABC News.

Authorities now have the bridge under control after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa Police Service responded to the volatile scene on Saturday, where several hundred protesters planted themselves about 100 feet from the foot of the entry to the bridge, even as all of the trucks left the scene throughout the day in the face of a police crackdown.

A judge had ordered Friday that the protesters disperse after the demonstrations interrupted the flow of goods between the two countries, especially crippling the auto industry on both sides of the border.

City officials hope to reopen the bridge Sunday night.

“Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador bridge came to an end,” Dilkens wrote in a statement. “Border crossings will reopen when it is safe to do so and I defer to police and border agencies to make that determination.”

Dilkens wrote that while the nation of Canada “believes in the right to freedom of speech and expression,” those exercising those rights must also abide by the law.

“As Canadians, there is more that unites us, than divides us and we must all find the resolve to approach those who hold different views with tolerance and respect,” Dilkens said. “Illegal acts, blockades and hate speech must not be tolerated and should be denounced.”

Thousands of truckers have been protesting the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for weeks as part of what is being called the “Freedom Convoy.” The number of demonstrators reached as many as 4,000 over the weekend.

The protests began in Canada’s capital city last month after truckers began protesting the requirement for them to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to cross the U.S.-Canada border.

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Nadine El-Bawab, Matt Foster, Elwyn Lopez and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States and its allies will respond “swiftly and decisively” to any further aggression by Russia against Ukraine, according to a White House readout of a phone call between the two leaders.

The Sunday morning call took place as U.S. officials continue to warn that an attack from Russia could come “any day now” and urge all Americans still in Ukraine to leave the country.

“President Biden made clear that the United States would respond swiftly and decisively, together with its allies and partners, to any further Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the White House said of the call. “The two leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to pursue diplomacy and deterrence in response to Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders.”

In a tweet Sunday following the call, Zelensky said he and Biden discussed “security, economy, existing risks, sanctions and Russian aggression.”

The conversation with the Ukrainian president comes one day after Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where Biden similarly warned that should Russia take action against Ukraine, the U.S., along with its allies, “will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia.”

According to a White House official, the call between Biden and Zelensky, who last spoke at the end of January, lasted 51 minutes, a shorter call than Biden’s discussion with Putin on Saturday, which lasted just over an hour.

A senior administration official, speaking with reporters following the Saturday call with Putin, said the tone was “professional and substantive,” however, “there was no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks.”

Since Friday, the Biden administration has ramped up its warnings about a possible Russian attack on Ukraine — which they say could happen as soon as this week.

“We have seen, over the course of the past 10 days, dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces and the disposition of those forces in such a way that they could launch a military action essentially at any time,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on CBS on Sunday. “They could do so this coming week.”

Despite the warnings, Zelensky has continued to call for calm in the country and seemed to express frustration with the dire tone.

“The best friend of our enemy is panic in our country, and all that information which helps create only panic doesn’t help us,” Zelensky said Saturday.

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