(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden convened a National Security Council meeting on Ukraine for Sunday. With tensions running high over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine, cease-fire monitors along the line dividing Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists reported a surge in violations.

European countries stepped up warnings, urging citizens to leave Ukraine. Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin are expected to talk on Sunday. Russia has repeatedly denied it plans an invasion of Ukraine and calls such claims propaganda and “hysteria.” 

Key Developments 

  • Biden Says He’s Convinced Putin Has Decided to Invade Ukraine
  • Ukrainian Leader Has Tough Message for Nation’s Allies: Do More
  • Gold Steadies as Traders Assess Heightened Tensions Over Ukraine
  • Explainer: Why Minsk Accords Are Murky Path for Ukraine Peace

All times CET:

Over 40,000 Arrive in Russia’s Rostov Region (7:30 a.m.)

Over 40,000 people leaving Donbas in Ukraine have arrived in Russian region of Rostov, Tass news service reported, citing the acting head of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry Alexander Chupriyan. 

Separatists in the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk people’s republics have called on civilians to leave, raising fears of an escalation in fighting. Officials in Kyiv say they have no intention of using force in the areas. Each side has blamed the other for a surge in cease-fire violations along the line of contact in recent days. 

Johnson Says Russia Plans ‘Biggest War’ Since 1945 (7:00 a.m.) 

Russia plans “the biggest war in Europe since 1945,” U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the BBC.   

“All the signs are that the plan has already in some senses begun,” Johnson told BBC correspondent Sophie Raworth from the Munich Security Conference. “I’m afraid that that is what the evidence points to, there’s no burnishing it.”

Johnson indicated that Britain could introduce more far-reaching sanctions against Moscow. The full interview will be broadcast at 10 a.m. CET.  

Biden Convenes Security Advisers (12:15 a.m.)

U.S. President Joe Biden will convene a meeting on Ukraine with his top security advisers on Sunday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.  

The National Security Council meeting follows Biden’s assessment on Friday that, based on U.S. intelligence, Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to attack Ukraine and that an invasion, including a strike on Kyiv, could come within days. 

Biden’s national security team is updating the president regularly about events on the ground and “reaffirmed that Russia could launch an attack against Ukraine at any time,” Psaki said in a statement.

Zelenskiy Discusses De-Escalation With Macron (10 p.m.)

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed “possible ways of immediate de-escalation” of the Ukraine crisis and a “political-diplomatic settlement” during a call on Saturday.  

The Ukrainian leader didn’t elaborate on his comments in a Twitter post. Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to speak at 11 a.m. CET on Sunday.  

Fighting in Eastern Ukraine Surged, Monitors Say (7:30 p.m.)

Cease-fire monitors on Ukraine’s so-called line of conflict said fighting surged on Friday, when separatist leaders in the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk republics told women and children to leave and alleged a Ukrainian assault to take the territory was imminent.

Cease-fire violations rose to 591 from 222 the previous day in the Donetsk sector, and to 975 from 648 in the Lugansk region, according to a daily report from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Most were more explosions rather than small arms violations, the report said. There were almost four times as many cease-fire violations across the region on Friday as during the previous seven days combined.

Ukraine says separatist leaders are increasing the rate of fire, including on civilian targets, to force a response and create a rationale for an invasion. Donbas leaders say they’re responding to fire from the Ukrainian side.

G-7 Warns About Escalation Risks in Donbas (5:00 p.m.)

After a recent jump in cease-fire violations along the contact line in eastern Ukraine, the foreign ministers of Group of Seven countries warned that actions by separatists could cause the situation to deteriorate further. 

“We are concerned that staged incidents could be used as a pretext for possible military escalation,” they said in a joint statement, calling on Russia to use its influence over the self-proclaimed republics to exercise restraint.  

They added that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe needs to be allowed to continue monitor the situation “without restrictions.” 

Zelenskiy Wonders What Putin Wants From Ukraine (5:05 p.m.)  

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he doesn’t know what Vladimir Putin wants from Ukraine and that’s why he’s seeking a meeting with him -- an overture that the Russian leader has so far rebuffed. 

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskiy also proposed a summit of the UN Security Council, plus Ukraine, Germany and Turkey, to work out new security guarantees for Ukraine. “Guarantees for now, while we are not a member of the [NATO] defense alliance,” he said. Russia, along with the U.K., the U.S., China and France has a permanent seat on the UNSC.  

As Zelenskiy spoke, his party’s lawmakers, Ukrainian military officials and journalists at the contact line with Russia-backed separatists were shelled and took cover in a bomb shelter. 

Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed Saturday as separatists violated cease-fire arrangements for the area 70 times since midnight, the Defense Ministry said. Such violations on both sides have persisted over the eight-year conflict but have jumped dramatically in recent days. 

Ukraine Leader Thanks IMF for Support (4:29 p.m.)

Zelenskiy spoke with World Bank President David Malpass on the role the bank plays “in the stability of the Ukrainian financial sector.”  

Germany, France Urge Citizens to Leave Ukraine (4:10 p.m.) 

Germany, Austria and France are among the European countries that have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine as soon as possible, repeating or ramping up warnings from a week ago.  

Austria’s Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to depart most of Ukraine due to the unpredictable security outlook. Germany intensified its warning, saying a military confrontation is possible at any time.

Lufthansa Cancels Kyiv Flights for a Week (3:40 p.m.) 

Lufthansa said Saturday it’s suspending flights into and out of Kyiv from Feb. 21 to Feb. 28 “ Austrian Airlines plans to halt flights to Kyiv and Odessa through February. 

The carriers still offer departures to Lviv, where countries including the U.K. have temporarily relocated their embassies. 

NATO’s Ukraine office is the latest to decamp to city near the Polish border, and some staff have also returned to Brussels, an alliance official said, adding that the office remains operational. 

Diplomats, IT Firms Flock to Habsburg Jewel on Kyiv War Worries    

 

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