U.S. and French officials say Presidents Biden and Putin agreed to meet “in principle.”
But Moscow says that’s premature.
This news comes as Russian forces are now poised to attack.
Russia on Sunday extended its military drills in Belarus along Ukraine’s northern border after two days of shelling in eastern Ukraine between Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.
CBN News Senior International Correspondent George Thomas, who’s in Lviv, Ukraine, said Moscow-backed forces in the east are laying the groundwork for a pretext to invade.
“Russia’s eight-year-long war against Ukraine in the East has taken a dramatic turn in the last 72 hours”, Thomas said. “Three sources that I’ve spoken to in the occupied territories say they’ve been notified this weekend that women, children, and the elderly need to evacuate immediately because they alleged that Ukraine is preparing for a massive military offensive. In addition, men between the ages of 18 and 60 are ordered to stay behind and to take up arms.”
Moscow has as many as 190,000 troops surrounding Ukraine, at least half of them in attack positions.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor describes Ukraine as a hostage in a struggle between Russia and the West.
“Ukraine has a gun to its head while Russia is negotiating with the U.S., NATO, and others and so yes they are a pawn,” Taylor told NBC’s Meet The Press.
Ukrainian President Zelensky at a security conference in Munich, Germany asked why the West has taken so long to impose sanctions on Russia.
“We don’t need your sanctions after the bombardment will happen,” Zelensky said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN it’s because once sanctions are invoked, Putin has nothing left to lose.
“The purpose of the sanctions in the first instance is to try to deter Russia from going to war. As soon as you trigger them, that deterrent is gone,” Blinken said.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Russia has amassed enough firepower to take the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, but with mass civilian casualties.
“If he employs that kind of combat power, it will certainly create enormous casualties within a civilian population,” Austin said.
Across Ukraine, civilians are taking part in combat training, preparing to fight, if necessary.
The U.S. says it has credible evidence that Moscow has drawn up a kill list targeting Russian dissidents, journalists, human rights activists, and ethnic and religious minorities living in Ukraine.
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN