Volodymyr Zelensky

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready for compromise and would look at proposals put forward by French leader Emmanuel Macron during talks on Feb. 7, while still blaming the West for raising tensions over Ukraine.

"An agreement to avoid a full-scale war in Ukraine is possible, and Russia's concerns about its own security are legitimate", said French President Emmanuel Macron. He is in Moscow for talks on the crisis with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The visit is part of a diplomatic shuttle to avoid conflict.

Russia has stepped up preparations for an all-out invasion of Ukraine but it is not clear if Moscow has decided to take such a step, US officials have said citing intelligence assessments.

The leaders of Turkey and France attempted to mediate in the Ukraine crisis on Thursday as Washington announced it had evidence of a Russian plan to fake a Ukrainian attack to justify invading its neighbour.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered on Feb. 3 to mediate talks between Russia and Ukraine as NATO warned that Moscow's military buildup continues, with more troops and military equipment deployed to neighboring Belarus than at any time in the last 30 years.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called for calming tensions today.
"The hysteria encouraged by the United States of America is really leading to hysteria in Ukraine, where people are on the verge of packing their suitcases in order to go to the front line," Peskov said.

Reuters news agency reported on Russia's movement of blood supplies to the border with Ukraine, as CNN informed, referring to two anonymous U.S. senior defense officials.

US President Joe Biden sought to maintain pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin over Ukraine on Jan. 28, announcing a small troop deployment to eastern Europe even as top Pentagon officials backed a renewed push for diplomacy.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit Ukraine on Feb. 3 as part of efforts to calm down tension due to the Russian confrontation in eastern Ukraine.

A telephone conversation between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on Thursday "did not go well", a senior Ukrainian official told CNN. The reason for this is the disagreement over the "risk levels" of a Russian attack.