\u201cDay of Unity\u201d displays came as Kremlin called for \u201cserious negotiations\u201d with Washington
\n KYIV
\nUkraine staged military drills and defiant displays of flag-waving patriotism on Wednesday as NATO warned Russia is continuing to mass forces for a possible invasion.
\nUkraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky watched troops training with some of their new Western-supplied anti-tank weapons on a range near Rivne, west of the capital.
\nThe demonstration of Ukrainian firepower contrasted with images on Russian state media that were said to show Moscow\u2019s forces bringing an end to a major exercise in occupied Crimea.
\nIn Rivne, a row of vehicles was destroyed by simultaneous missile test strikes and armoured vehicles manoeuvred and fired on the yellowing moorland, while in Kyiv hundreds of civilians marched in a stadium with an enormous national banner.
\nThe \u201cDay of Unity\u201d displays came as the Kremlin called for \u201cserious negotiations\u201d with Washington, and European leaders pushed hard for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.
\nNATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, hosting the alliance\u2019s defence ministers in Brussels, dismissed suggestions that the threat on the border had diminished.
\n\u201cIt remains to be seen whether there is a Russian withdrawal,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWe are of course monitoring very closely what Russia does in and around Ukraine. What we see is that they have increased the number of troops and more troops are on their way.\u201d
\n\u2018Signals give us hope\u2019
\nRussia\u2019s huge build-up of troops, missiles and warships around Ukraine \u2014 which US intelligence warns could turn quickly into an invasion \u2014 has been called Europe\u2019s worst security crisis since the Cold War.
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine be forbidden from pursuing its ambition to join NATO and wants to redraw the security map of eastern Europe, rolling back Western influence.
\nBut, backed by a threat of crippling US and EU economic sanctions, Western leaders have launched a drive to seek a negotiated settlement, and Moscow has signalled it will start to pull forces back.
\nIn the latest such move, on Wednesday the Russian defence ministry said military drills in Crimea \u2014 a Ukrainian region Moscow annexed in 2014 \u2014 had ended and that troops were returning to their garrisons.
\nWashington has demanded more verifiable evidence of de-escalation, but US President Joe Biden on Tuesday nevertheless vowed to push for a diplomatic solution.
\nKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: \u201cIt is positive that the US president is also noting his readiness to start serious negotiations.\u201d
\nGerman Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht, arriving at the NATO talks, said reports of a partial Russian pullback \u201care signals that at least give us hope. But it is important to observe closely whether these words are followed by deeds.\u201d
\nZelensky has downplayed threats of an immediate Russian invasion, but is attempting to rally his people with \u201cDay of Unity\u201d celebrations under Ukraine\u00b4s blue and gold banner.
\nOn Wednesday, after the Rivne drills, he was to visit Mariupol, a frontline port city near a breakaway region held by Russian-backed separatists.
\nIn a video message, the 44-year-old former television actor turned leader said the flag would fly across the country and that the national anthem \u201cUkraine has not yet died\u201d would be sung.
\n\u201cGreat people of great Ukraine! This day is ours,\u201d he declared.
\nThe European Union ambassador to Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, along with the German, Estonian, Polish and Spanish envoys were headed to Mariupol with the president in solidarity.
\nMaasikas also said that he had raised the Ukrainian flag alongside the EU one at his embassy, adding: \u201cNot sure it\u2019s fully according to the rules, but these are extraordinary times.\u201d
\nIn Kyiv, the capital\u2019s deputy mayor Valentyn Mondryivsky said headteachers have been given guidance on \u201cemergency situations\u201d and that bomb shelters would be available at all schools.
\nRich return
\nIn another sign of Ukraine\u2019s most powerful figures coming together, some wealthy business leaders who had been urged to come back to the country announced their return.
\nUkraine\u2019s richest man, 55-year-old billionaire industrialist Rinat Akmetov, who was born in Donetsk in an area now held by separatists, was in Mariupol.
\n\u201cWe continue to build, we continue to invest. This year, Metinvest will invest $1 billion in new production,\u201d he said, referring to his company, promising to boost salaries and support a local university.
\nOn Tuesday, Ukraine said the websites of the country\u2019s defence ministry and armed forces as well as two banks had been hit by a cyberattack of the kind that US intelligence fears would precede a Russian attack.
\n\u201cIt cannot be excluded that the aggressor is resorting to dirty tricks,\u201d Ukraine\u2019s communications watchdog said, in reference to Russia.
\nPeskov denied that Moscow had any role in the cyber assault. \u201cWe do not know anything. As expected, Ukraine continues blaming Russia for everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cDay of Unity\u201d displays came as Kremlin called for \u201cserious negotiations\u201d with Washington KYIV Ukraine staged military drills and defiant displays of flag-waving patriotism on Wednesday as NATO warned Russia is continuing to mass forces for a possible invasion. Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky watched troops training with some of their new Western-supplied anti-tank weapons on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244907,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4164,1116,4163,338,456],"class_list":{"0":"post-244897","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-day-of-unity","9":"tag-nato","10":"tag-pullback","11":"tag-russia","12":"tag-ukraine"},"yoast_head":"\n