(NEW YORK) — The United States continues to warn that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day” amid escalating tensions in the region.
More than 150,000 Russian troops are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders, U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday, as U.S. officials have urged all Americans to immediately leave Ukraine.
Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. has “not yet verified” claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin that Russia was withdrawing some troops from near Ukraine’s borders.
ABC News has learned Putin had told his military forces to be ready to invade by Wednesday, but it remains unclear whether he has made a decision to attack his neighbor. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a national day of unity Wednesday.
Russia has denied it plans to invade and has demanded the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the military alliance.
Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:
Feb 16, 9:30 am
US condemns Russian parliament vote to recognize Donbas
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has condemned a vote by Russia’s parliament to call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize two Russian-controlled breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.
The Russian parliament passed a law on Tuesday that 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.
However, Putin indicated Tuesday that he will not immediately recognize the regions.
“To be clear: Kremlin approval of this appeal would amount to the Russian government’s wholesale rejection of its commitments under the Minsk agreements, which outline the process for the full political, social, and economic reintegration of those parts of Ukraine’s Donbas region controlled by Russia-led forces and political proxies since 2014,” Blinken said in a statement Wednesday. “Enactment of this resolution would further undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, constitute a gross violation of international law, call in further question Russia’s stated commitment to continue to engage in diplomacy to achieve a peaceful resolution of this crisis, and necessitate a swift and firm response from the United States in full coordination with our allies and partners.”
Blinken did not specify what that response would be.
Feb 16, 8:52 am
Blinken: US has seen ‘no meaningful pullback’ of Russian forces
While the Russian Ministry of Defense said some of its troops positioned near Ukraine’s border would begin returning to their bases, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC News’ Good Morning America on Wednesday that the U.S. has seen “no meaningful pullback” and described the situation as “deeply, deeply concerning.”
“On the contrary, we continue to see forces, especially forces in the vanguard of any renewed aggression against Ukraine, continuing to be at the border, to mass at the border,” Blinken said, emphasizing the choice to deescalate is squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“President Putin’s put in place the capacity to act on very short notice,” he said. “He can pull the trigger — he could pull it today. He could pull it tomorrow. He could pull it next week. The forces are there if he wants to renew aggression against Ukraine.”
Amid some tensions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials over the level of urgency here, Blinken defended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying the former comedian is “taking it very seriously. He’s trying to maintain calm. He doesn’t want his people to panic. That’s the right thing to do. But I think the Ukrainians are taking it very, very seriously.”
ABC News Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Blinken directly if the threat of attack in Ukraine is “today greater than it was yesterday.”
“From day to day, George, you can’t say it’s higher or lower. It’s there. It’s there. It’s real. We haven’t seen a pullback. We’d like to see one. If we see one, we would welcome it,” Blinken said. “We’re prepared for diplomacy. We’re prepared for aggression prepared either way.”
Feb 16, 8:31 am
Kremlin reacts to Biden’s speech on Russia
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Russia has “grown tired” of listening to “threats,” referring to U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech the previous night.
“We’d prefer not to listen to various sorts of threats as to what would happen to us if we did something that we have no intention of doing,” Peskov told reporters during a daily call.
If the United States did not issue warnings about a Russian invasion of Ukraine and threaten consequences, then perhaps the Russian people would like Americans more, Peskov said.
“We have pretty much grown tired of [the threats],” he added. “If we heard such messages that would be free of threats, the Russian people would probably like them much more.”
Peskov noted that Russia hopes it would be able to begin a “negotiating process” with the U.S. over the Kremlin’s demands for security guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO, as well as confidence building measures such as limits on missile deployments and troops exercises.
Biden during his speech Tuesday night again ruled out any guarantee on Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, saying the U.S. will not sacrifice fundamental principles and that countries have a right to choose their alliances. The Biden administration, however, has offered to engage with Russia on the confidence-building measures, which Western nations have put forward in the hope of persuading the Kremlin to choose a diplomatic route out of the crisis.
Feb 16, 7:48 am
Kremlin criticizes ‘Western hysteria’ around possible invasion
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that while he expects the “hysteria” in Western media outlets about the threat of a Russian invasion to continue, he hopes foreign journalists will ultimately admit that they were wrong.
During a daily call with reporters, Peskov was asked whether Western media reports that Russia would attack Ukraine on Wednesday could be described as the culmination of “information hysteria.”
“Frankly, the way the Western hysteria is developing indicates there is still a long way until culmination. There won’t be a remission any time soon, we should be patient,” Peskov said. “Still, it is very important that Western media outlets, in this case, the British ones, say at least at the end of every day that their predictions have been wrong.”
Feb 16, 6:55 am
Russia says some troops returning to base after loading up tanks
The Russian Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that troops from its Western Military District massed near Ukraine have completed loading their tanks and are now returning to their bases, some 1,000 kilometers (over 620 miles) away.
“Personnel of the units of the Western Military District’s tank army have finished loading their tanks and tracked armored hardware onto flatbed railcars and have embarked on a 1,000-kilometer march using various means of transportation back to their permanent bases upon completion of their routine drills,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
Russia has currently deployed forces from all of its military districts near Ukraine. The Russian military has said that the Western and Southern Military Districts are returning to their bases. Meanwhile, units from Russia’s Eastern Military District remain in Belarus, having traveled some 10,000 kilometers (over 6,200 miles) there.
Feb 16, 6:33 am
NATO: ‘Russia continues their military build-up’
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Wednesday that Russia has still shown no signs of de-escalation on the ground, despite claims of withdrawing troops from near Ukraine.
“We have heard the signs from Moscow about the readiness to continue diplomatic efforts, but so far we have not seen any de-escalation on the ground,” Stoltenberg said during a press conference outside NATO headquarters in Brussels. “On the contrary, it appears that Russia continues their military build-up.”
NATO continues to monitor the situation “very closely,” as it remains unclear whether Russia is pulling back, according to Stoltenberg.
“What we see is that they have increased the number of troops and more troops are on their way,” he told reporters. “So, so far, no de-escalation but of course, we hear also the message about diplomacy and we are ready to engage in diplomatic efforts with Russia.”
Stoltenberg explained that the Russian military has “always moved forces back and forth.”
“So, just that we see movement of forces of battle tanks doesn’t confirm a real withdrawal,” he said. “It has been a big up and down, back and forth, all the way, but the trend over the last weeks and months has been a steady increase in the Russian capabilities close to Ukraine’s borders. So Russia retains the capability of a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine without any warning time.”
As of Wednesday morning, there were still approximately 100,000 Russian troops at Ukraine’s borders, including in Belarus, according to Stoltenberg, who said he hopes the dialogue with Russia will continue and that the claims of withdrawal are true “because nobody has any interest in confrontation or war in Europe.”
“We are at a pivotal moment in the history of Ukraine, Europe and global stability,” he added. “We look forward to seeing evidence of the withdrawal of troops on Russia’s part, but we need to prepare for any eventuality, with that significant escalation of Russian troops that we have seen over the last weeks and months.”
Stoltenberg’s comments came ahead of a meeting of the military alliance’s defense ministers, including U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, to discuss the current crisis.
Feb 16, 5:36 am
Russia releases video showing more troops leaving Crimea
The Russian military released more videos on Wednesday morning purportedly showing troops pulling back from Moscow-annexed Crimea.
The footage aired on Russian state media, with one video showing a trainload of armour being carried across the Russian-built bridge that connects the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula to Russia’s mainland. Another video shows military trucks driving out of Crimea across the bridge, which Russian state media described as support troops leaving “exercises.”
However, officials in the West and regional analysts continue to caution that they have not yet seen significant movements of Russian troops pulling back from near Ukraine’s borders.
Meanwhile, massive military exercises continue in neighboring Belarus and are not due to finish until Sunday. Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said Wednesday that “not a single” Russian soldier will remain in the country once those drills end.
Feb 16, 5:05 am
Zelenskyy wishes Ukrainians ‘a happy day of unity’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wished citizens “a happy day of unity” on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy had said on Monday evening that instead of Feb. 16 being “the day of the attack,” he would make it “the day of unity” and declared an impromptu national holiday.
ABC News has learned that Russian President Vladimir Putin had told his military forces to be ready to invade Ukraine by Wednesday, but it remains unclear whether he has made a decision to attack the neighboring country.
“We are all united by our wish to live, to live in peace, to live a happy life with our families, parents and children. We have the full right to all of this, because we’re at home here, in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in an address on social media Wednesday morning. “Nobody will love our home as much as we do, and nobody can defend our home as we can. I wish you a happy unity day, my blue-yellow ones, a happy day of unity of Ukraine, in the east and west, in the south and north. It works only together, and when it works, we’re strong.”
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