KYIV
\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron will meet Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin on Sunday to try to avert what Western powers predict will be an imminent invasion of Ukraine. Over the weekend, civilians were evacuated from increasingly barraged front line regions where Kyiv said Saturday two of its soldiers had died in an attack — the first fatalities in the conflict in more than a month.
\nThe Kremlin insists it has no incursion plans, but its test-firing of nuclear-capable missiles Saturday did little to alleviate tensions. \u201cEvery indication indicates that Russia is planning a full-fledged attack against Ukraine,\u201d NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.
\nUS President Joe Biden, who earlier said he was \u201cconvinced\u201d Russia would invade in the coming days, is convening a rare Sunday National Security Council meeting over the crisis. US and EU officials have said they believe Moscow is attempting to fabricate a pretext for its offensive by having proxy outlets put out false information about violence in rebel-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.
\n\u201cLocals in Donetsk reported calm despite Russian claims of a car bomb,\u201d said US State Department spokesman Ned Price.
\nSpeaking to Macron on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would not respond to Russia\u2019s provocations, according to the Elysee.
\nBut in his speech to the Munich Security Conference, he also condemned \u201ca policy of appeasement\u201d towards Moscow.
\n\u201cFor eight years, Ukraine has been holding back one of the greatest armies in the world,\u201d he said.
\nHe called for \u201cclear, feasible timeframes\u201d for Ukraine to join the US-led NATO military alliance — something Moscow has said is a red line for its security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin on Sunday to try to avert what Western powers predict will be an imminent invasion of Ukraine. Over the weekend, civilians were evacuated from increasingly barraged front line regions where Kyiv said Saturday two of its soldiers had died in an attack — the first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-245492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n