Page 5 - Dmitriy Khavin News Today

Biden vows to keep U.S. troops out of combat but offers no plan to end the conflict apart from Russia’s immediate withdrawal.

A contingent was killed defending the Black Sea island, which grew in importance for Ukraine after nearby Crimea was seized by Russia in 2014.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he appealed to Russia on Thursday for a “cessation of violence” but fell short of condemning its actions in Ukraine.

U.S. and NATO officials have warned that the large-scale maneuvers pose a threat to Ukraine. The president of Ukraine, marking the anniversary of protests that toppled a pro-Russian government in 2014, urged his compatriots “to fight for their future.”

Intelligence officials say they have a high level of confidence in the information they have collected about Russian military planning

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

Russia’s foreign minister said that there was “a kernel of rationality” in the U.S. written response to its demands. President Emmanuel Macron of France has spoken with President Vladimir Putin of Russia to try to ease tensions.