Page 32 - Andrewe Kramer News Today

The diplomats said the draft included 27 individuals and entities, including political, military, business and financial entities.

Several units or troops have been deployed outside bases or training grounds, as Russian forces continue moving closer to the border with Ukraine.

White House officials said President Biden and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would hold a possible summit only after meetings between the foreign ministers of the two countries, and only if Russia does not invade.

He thanked the West but said sanctions should be applied now and that repeated predictions of imminent war were damaging.

As shelling intensified in eastern Ukraine, a seemingly routine press tour turned into a frantic rush to safety.

As shelling intensified in the east, officials warned that Moscow might use false claims of “genocide” against Russians in the region as a pretext for an attack.

The president’s call with trans-Atlantic leaders, set for Friday, follows tense fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainians. In a show of solidarity, the U.S. defense secretary is meeting with his Polish counterpart.

President Biden said Russia will target Kyiv in the coming week, citing U.S. intelligence. The Russian president said earlier on Friday that he is still open to diplomacy.

As Russia stoked hopes of a diplomatic solution and claimed to be pulling back forces from the Ukrainian border, U.S. and NATO officials accused Moscow of building up troops instead.

Western officials continued to dispute Russia’s claims about withdrawing forces from around Ukraine. Russia expelled the deputy American ambassador in what the U.S. called an “escalatory step.”