Faced with a sharp increase in violence in and around territory held by Russia-backed rebels and increasingly dire warnings that Russia plans to invade, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with him and seek a resolution to the crisis.
Mr Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference, where he also met with US Vice President Kamala Harris, "I don't know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, therefore I propose a meeting."
Mr. Zelenskyy stated that Russia has the option of choosing the venue for the discussions.
"For the sake of a peaceful conclusion, Ukraine will continue to adopt exclusively the diplomatic path," he stated.
The Kremlin did not respond in a timely manner.
Hours before Zelenskyy spoke, separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine authorised a full military mobilisation, and Western leaders issued increasingly grim warnings that a Russian invasion of its neighbour was near.
Germany and Austria have issued new warnings to its citizens to evacuate Ukraine, fueling fears that a war could break out within days.
Lufthansa has cancelled flights to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, and Odessa, a Black Sea port that may be a crucial target in an invasion.
The NATO liaison office in Kyiv announced that workers would be transferring to Brussels and Lviv in western Ukraine. Meanwhile, during a tour of the front lines of the nearly eight-year separatist struggle in eastern Ukraine, top Ukrainian military officers were shelled.
According to an Associated Press journalist who was on the tour, the authorities ran to a bomb bunker before rushing out of the area.
The violence in eastern Ukraine has risen in recent days, with Ukraine and the rebel-held territories accusing one other of escalation. On Saturday, Russia claimed that at least two shells fired from a government-controlled area of eastern Ukraine crossed the border, but Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced the report as "false."
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