Biden to host call with Nato allies as invasion fears grow as it happened – The Guardian

12.00am EST 00:00

Thanks for following our live coverage of the Ukraine crisis. We will be closing this blog but you can follow all the latest developments on our new feed here.

Updated at 12.02am EST

11.53pm EST 23:53

Germanys foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has released a statement ahead of the Munich security conference (which we mention in our post here), which starts today. She criticises Russia for its cold war demands and for declining to attend the meeting.

With an unprecedented deployment of troops on the border with Ukraine and cold war demands, Russia is challenging fundamental principles of the European peace order, Baerbock said in a statement.

I am travelling to Munich today to discuss how we can still counter the logic of threats of violence and military escalation with the logic of dialogue ... It is a loss that Russia is not taking advantage of this opportunity.

11.45pm EST 23:45

The United States has criticised Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaros declaration of solidarity with Russia during a visit there this week.

The State Department said in a statement, as reported by Reuters:

The timing of the president of Brazil expressing solidarity with Russia, just as Russian forces are preparing to launch attacks on Ukrainian cities, could not be worse.

It undermines international diplomacy directed at averting a strategic and humanitarian disaster, as well as Brazils own calls for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Brazils foreign ministry and spokespeople for Bolsonaro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, during his state visit to Russia, Bolsonaro said in a statement he was in solidarity with Russia without elaborating.

Later in a joint statement, alongside Vladimir Putin, he said: We stand in solidarity with all those countries that want and strive for peace. We have intense collaboration in key international forums such as the BRICS, the G20 and the United Nations, where we defend the sovereignty of states, respect for international law and the United Nations Charter.

Updated at 11.55pm EST

11.25pm EST 23:25

Julian Borger

As we reported earlier, US secretary of state Antony Blinken is to meet the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, next week, warning the crisis in Ukraine was a moment of peril for the lives and safety of millions of people.

The US state department said on Thursday night that Blinken had accepted an invitation to meet Lavrov provided there was no invasion of Ukraine. The move provides hope that diplomatic channels remained open even as US warnings of an imminent invasion grow louder.

If they do invade in the coming days, it will make clear they were never serious about diplomacy, said state department spokesperson Ned Price. Blinken said earlier on Thursday he had sent a letter to Lavrov proposing a meeting in Europe.

Read our full report below.

10.12pm EST 22:12

Some more photos from the scene of a shelling in the city of Stanytsia Luhanska in eastern Ukraine have emerged.

According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) there were multiple shelling incidents on Thursday morning across the frontline in eastern Ukraine.

A nursery school in the Donbas region was hit by Russian-backed separatists as residents woke to find a hole blown through the wall.

The move has been described by leaders in the west as a false-flag operation aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian government, while Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, accused the Russian side of provocative shelling.

9.44pm EST 21:44

A White House official has just confirmed earlier reports that US president Joe Biden will host a call on Friday with Nato allies to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

In a statement, the official said:

The President will speak with Transatlantic leaders on a phone call tomorrow afternoon about Russias buildup of military troops on the border of Ukraine and our continued efforts to pursue deterrence and diplomacy.

Updated at 9.54pm EST

9.28pm EST 21:28

Russia is on the brink of an all-out conflict in Ukraine, according to Australias defence minister.

Peter Dutton told Australian broadcaster, the Nine Network, on Friday:

Its tragic and well see terrible scenes unfolding.

You would expect that President Putin, who obviously cant be taken at his word, is manufacturing some sort of trigger, or is in the process of executing the final stages of his plan to go into Ukraine.

Dutton said while European leaders have attempted to prevent a conflict in Ukraine, he believed Putin was intent on military action.

That really is going to result in the loss of innocent life.

Weve seen it before in eastern Europe, we dont want it repeated but we live in a very uncertain world.

This is an issue Nato and Europe need to deal with and those European leaders really need to step up and put the pressure, even more pressure, on Russia to stop them.

The defence minister said Australia has not been asked to provide troops to Ukraine, should there be any military retaliation.

9.10pm EST 21:10

The US Senate has voted in a rare bipartisan moment late on Thursday to send a show of support for an independent Ukraine, the Associated Press reports.

The vote comes shortly after Biden said the US has every indication of a potential Russian attack on Ukraine in a matter of days.

The resolution from the senators does not carry the force of law but puts the US legislative body on record supporting Ukraine and condemning Russian aggression.

The vote was unanimous, without objection or the formal roll call, according to the Associated Press.

Republican senator Rob Portman, in introducing the measure with Democratic counterpart Jeanne Shaheen among others, said:

This Congress is united in its support of Ukrainian independence and sovereignty.

Ukraine has strong allies in the Senate, where there is broad support for sanctions on Russia as a powerful foreign policy tool to be used if Vladimir Putin furthers his aggression toward Ukraine.

Senators held back on legislation sanctioning Russia, saying the White House can impose sanctions on its own, regardless of congressional action.

It is not a question of if but how we will respond to Putin, said Shaheen in a statement.

8.45pm EST 20:45

US secretary of state Antony Blinken will meet Russias foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, next week provided there is no further Russian invasion of Ukraine, US state department spokesperson Ned Price has annoucened.

In a statement, Price said:

The Russians have responded with proposed dates for late next week, which we are accepting, provided there is no further Russian invasion of Ukraine.

If they do invade in the coming days, it will make clear they were never serious about diplomacy. We will continue to coordinate with our Allies and partners and push for further engagements with Russia through the NATO-Russia Council and OSCE.

Updated at 9.23pm EST

8.39pm EST 20:39

Global leaders are preparing to meet in Germany for Fridays Munich security conference to hold talks on the crisis in a bid to avert war in Ukraine.

In attendance will be the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken and vice-president, Kamala Harris, along with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, and Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) most developed nations are set to speak at length over the four-day conference, discussing efforts to get Russia to de-escalate and ways to strengthen European security.

8.27pm EST 20:27

The increasingly pointed warnings from Joe Biden and Antony Blinken, plus the shelling in separatist regions of Ukraine sent jitters through Asias markets as they opened on Friday. Gold also reached an eight-month high as investors looking for safety ahead of the weekend.

Here are the details from Reuters:

MSCIs broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, was down 0.3% in early trade. Japans Nikkei fell 1.4%. Korean shares and Australian shares each fell 1%.

On Wall Street overnight the Dow Jones 1.8% fall was its worst session of the year so far, the S&P 500 fell 2.1% and the Nasdaq dropped 2.9%. Gold shot to an eight-month high of $1,900 an ounce and held its gains.

The market will be on high alert over the possibility of a Russian invasion next week once the Beijing Olympics are over, analysts at ANZ Bank said in a note.

Overnight safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc climbed to two-week highs on the dollar, with the yen edging a tad higher still in Asia to 114.84 per dollar.

8.13pm EST 20:13

US secretary of state Antony Blinken earlier told a United Nations security council meeting on Ukraine that the unfolding crisis represents a moment of peril for the lives and safety of millions of people as Russian continues to deny plans to invade Ukraine.

Blinken addressed those assembled, saying: Our information indicates clearly that [Russian] forces, including ground troops, aircraft, ships, are preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days.

Watch the highlights of the speech in the video below.

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Biden to host call with Nato allies as invasion fears grow as it happened - The Guardian