Russia-Ukraine live updates: Kremlin reacts to Biden’s speech

(NEW YORK) — The United States continues to warn that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day” amid escalating tensions in the region, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken telling ABC News Wednesday the U.S. has seen “no meaningful pullback” of Russian forces and that Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin could “pull the trigger” at any point.

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.

While Putin and the Kremlin claim that Russia has started to withdraw some troops from near Ukraine’s borders, ABC News has learned Putin had told his military forces to be ready to invade by Wednesday. It remains unclear whether he has made a decision to attack his neighbor. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, 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.

Latest headlines:
-Biden holds call with German Chancellor Scholz
-Ukriane’s Zelenskyy addresses nation on ‘unity day’
-Moscow claims concern Kyiv preparing for attack against Donbas
-NATO defense ministers ‘gravely concerned’ by Russian military buildup
-US condemns Russian parliament vote to recognize Donbas

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

Feb 16, 2:59 pm
Biden holds call with German Chancellor Scholz

President Joe Biden was scheduled to have a secure call on Wednesday with German Chancellor Scholz about 2:30 p.m., according to the White House, ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveling to Germany on Thursday for the Munich Security Conference.

Scholz visited the Kremlin and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday. The German chancellor has said that war is “unimaginable” and shouldn’t be an option since Ukraine has not formally requested to join NATO, as Russia demands it be barred from doing so.

“That is why it is somewhat peculiar to observe that the Russian government is making something that is practically not on the agenda the subject of major political problems,” Scholz said earlier this week.

“That is, after all, the challenge we are actually facing. That something that is not at all an issue now is being made an issue,” he said.

Feb 16, 1:32 pm
Ukriane’s Zelenskyy addresses nation on ‘unity day’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy address his nation Wednesday after inspecting military exercises in northern Ukraine to mark the new “Unity Day” holiday he created this week in response to U.S. warnings Russia could begin an invasion as early as Feb. 16.

Zelenskyy declared that Ukraine is not afraid and no longer in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, suggesting Ukraine is ready to defend itself this time.

“We are not frightened by threats or predictions, or dates of the coming doomsday. Be it the 16th or 17th. February or April or November. What really matters is the year, and it’s 2022 now, not 2014,” he said.

“We’re strong because we are united, we’re calm in our togetherness, and it’s an honor and privilege for me to be a president of such a state,” Zelenskyy added.

ABC News’ Fidel and Patrick Reevell and Fidel Zepeda

Feb 16, 12:43 pm
Moscow claims concern Kyiv preparing for attack against Donbas

Moscow is concerned that Kyiv might use the current situation to launch an attack against the Russian-controlled areas in the Donbas region of southeastern Ukraine, according to Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The events of recent weeks allow us to state with confidence that the goal of this campaign was to create an information curtain to pump up the Kyiv regime with arms,” Zakharova said during a press briefing in Moscow on Wednesday. “There is an understanding that this situation will be used by the Kyiv leadership for a suicidal aggression against Donbas.”

Zakharova said if there is “political will,” the Minsk peace agreements — which were signed in 2014 and 2015 in an unsuccessful effort to end the ongoing conflict between the Ukrainian army and the Russian-backed separatists forces in Donbas — can be implemented within “a few months.” But she warned that “any sudden move” in Ukraine could have “fatal consequences.”

“The hysteria fanned by the West has put severe psychological pressure on the population of Ukraine, but it is up to them to deal with it,” she told reporters. “We are concerned about another thing. It is a country in a hot phase of an internal conflict and, therefore, people’s condition, including their mental state, is important. Because any sudden move, including on the contact line, any shot, any provocation may ultimately lead to some fatal consequences.”

Zakharova noted that Moscow is “no longer interested in” statements made by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, whom she called a “NATO has-been.” She was referring to an announcement earlier this month that Stoltenberg will become Norway’s new central bank chief — all but confirming that he will leave his current post as head of the Western defense alliance.

“He is not a person whose statements Moscow would consider serious arguments,” Zakharova told reporters. “We will be focused on a serious conversation if our Western partners are ready for it.”

ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova

Feb 16, 11:37 am
NATO defense ministers ‘gravely concerned’ by Russian military buildup

In his opening statement ahead of the NATO Defense Ministers meeting on Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed signals from Russia that they’re willing to continue to engage in diplomatic talks — but said NATO officials “have not, so far, seen any sign of de-escalation on the ground.”

NATO Defense Ministers issued a statement after their meeting concluded saying they are “gravely concerned by the very large scale, unprovoked and unjustified Russian military build-up in and around Ukraine and in Belarus.”

“We urge Russia, in the strongest possible terms, to choose the path of diplomacy, and to immediately reverse its build-up and withdraw its forces from Ukraine in accordance with its international obligations and commitments. We remain committed to our dual-track approach to Russia: strong deterrence and defense, combined with openness to dialogue,” the defense ministers said in a statement.

They wrote that NATO is deploying additional land forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, as well as additional maritime and air assets, and has increased the readiness of forces.

“Our measures are and remain preventive, proportionate and non-escalatory. We are prepared to further strengthen our defensive and deterrent posture to respond to all contingencies,” the statement said. “Our commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty is iron-clad. We stand united to defend each other.”

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

 

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