In Ukraine

In connection with the Russian State Duma's call for recognition of the breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and the verbal note received from the Ukrainian Embassy in Sofia, the Foreign Ministry said:

The EU leaders, who will gather today in Brussels at the summit of the EU and the African Union, will previously hold a one-hour meeting dedicated to the crisis in and around Ukraine from 12.30.

A Russian committee claimed that the civilians found in the area controlled by Russian-backed separatists were killed by Ukrainian shelling

Is the Ukraine 'Crisis' Just Another US Charade? by Jack F. Matlock, Jr.

Today we face an avoidable crisis that was predictable, actually predicted, willfully precipitated, but easily resolved by the application of common sense.

US President Joe Biden said the threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine remained, but that a diplomatic solution to the crisis was still achievable.

Biden spoke in a special address to the nation, in which he commented about the situation and the actions that the United States is ready to take.

Russian Ambassador to the EU: Russia will Not Attack Ukraine Today

Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, has rejected US warnings that a Russian attack on Ukraine is possible today.

Some of the Russian troops stationed on the border with Ukraine are returning to their garrisons. This was reported by TASS and Interfax.

The official announcement of the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow is that they have already completed their exercises in the area.

The Kremlin and the West held out the possibility of a diplomatic path out of the Ukraine crisis, even as Russia appeared to continue preparations for a potential invasion, including moving troops military hardware closer to its neighbor.

The Bulgarian authorities are ready to evacuate our compatriots from Ukraine. Crisis headquarters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is monitoring the situation in and around the country.

Some 130,000 Russian troops are massed on the Ukrainian border