Europe

The units of the tank army of Russia’s Western Military District (WMD) are returning to the site of permanent deployment after conducting planned exercises, according to the Ministry of Defense.

Russia has announced military drills in Crimea have ended and that soldiers are returning to their garrisons. It comes a day after Moscow announced a first troop pullback from Ukraine’s borders.

Moscow does not want any war and this is why it proposed holding negotiations on equal security in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday. Putting was referring to the Russia-Ukraine tensions.

Russian troops have completed their training drills in Belarus, close to neighboring Ukraine, and will begin returning to their places of regular deployment, the Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday. It comes amid fears in the West that the exercises could have been a precursor to an invasion.

World powers have warned Moscow that they stand ready to impose sanctions that would have a huge and immediate impact on Russia's economy, should it pursue any military aggression against Ukraine. Moscow rejects any plan to attack Ukraine, despite mass military deployment on borders.

Thousands of protesters convened in Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv on Saturday to show unity amid increasing concerns over a Russian invasion.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone talk with his UK counterpart Elizabeth Truss on the nuclear negotiations in Vienna and the situation around Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held phone talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Saturday over Ukraine tensions and Iran's nuclear programme.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a telephone talk with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday that Washington propaganda campaign on Moscow’s alleged aggression against Ukraine pursued provocative goals.

Diplomats and employees of the Russian consulates have started leaving Ukraine, an informed source told Sputnik on Saturday.

A Russian official says Tehran and Moscow are working to establish a mechanism to protect trade and financial exchanges from the threat of sanctions. That’s according to Iran’s Fars News Agency.

Troops from Russia and Belarus have kicked off the Union Resolve 2022 joint drills at training grounds on Belarusian soil. Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Thursday the exercises are part of the second stage of the inspection of the Union State’s response forces.

The U.S. Army general tapped to take over as top commander in the Middle East has warned if Russia invades Ukraine, it could create broader instability in the Middle East, including Syria.

European Union has eased its sanctions against Afghanistan to let humanitarian aid into the country. Afghanistan is going through a humanitarian crisis and over half of its population is starving.

The speculation of Western countries about how many days Kiev can fall in the course of a potential Russian invasion is madness and scaremongering, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Sunday.

Russia says US-based Bloomberg News Agency is publishing baseless stories regarding Moscow’s plans to invade Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov added this makes it clear how dangerous West-triggered tensions are.

Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems have been deployed to Belarus and will go on air defense combat alert as part of an inspection of the Union State’s Response Force, according to the Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The deployment of US troops in Europe is the proof that Russia has a reason to be worried, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says.

Russia has plans to hedge risks and mitigate consequences in the event of new economic sanctions by the US, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says. He added Moscow is concerned because the sanctions behavior of Washington is absolutely unpredictable.

The United States and the United Kingdom have announced they are readying sanctions on Russia over Ukraine. The Kremlin has warned any such move will bring about countermeasures from Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that UK's plans to target Russia with sanctions are not legitimate. He noted any such aggression will bring about countermeasures from Moscow.

The European Union is negotiating gas supplies with the United States, as well as Qatar, and Azerbaijan, in case Russia decides to cut or stop supplies, High Representative of the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell says.

 A top Russian security official says Moscow is in no way threatening Ukraine, adding all allegations by the US authorities in this regard are total absurdity, Russian  

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has confirmed that Moscow has received a written response from the US to the Kremlin's requests for assurances over NATO expansion, expressing disappointment over quote the lack of concessions.

Ukraine is being used as a tool of geopolitical pressure on Moscow, it became a toy in the hands of the US and NATO, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev says.