Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised address that he had been informed that February 16 would be the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The surprise televised speech came after the Ukrainian president was informed that the Russian invasion of his country would take place on Wednesday.
The comments of the Ukrainian leader, made in a speech to his nation posted on Facebook, come amid growing tensions between Kiev and Moscow.
Russia has deployed more than 100.000 troops near the Ukrainian border. The troop build-up had raised concerns among US and NATO allies that Russia was planning a military invasion, but Moscow has repeatedly denied any such plans.
Volodymyr Zelensky put the Ukrainian police on standby until Saturday, noting that Wednesday will be a day of unity and a holiday, which means that the Ukrainian flag will be raised in all public buildings.
Extraordinary EU Summit on Thursday
All this at a time when developments are provoking an extraordinary meeting of the EU Summit of Leaders on Thursday.
According to a European official, the meeting may take place on the sidelines of the summit with their African Union counterparts.
The final decision will be taken by European Council President Charles Michel. According to the current schedule, the results of tomorrow's meeting between German Chancellor Olaf Solz and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be announced. An emergency summit "is possible, depending on developments," said the official, who asked not to be named.
Aim to have a "united front"
"It is important to be able to express immediately (s.s. our views), with a united front," the same source commented, insisting that no decision has been made yet. Another possibility would also be a video conference meeting of European leaders.
Europeans say they are ready to impose heavy economic sanctions on Moscow if it invades Ukraine. The sanctions will be decided by the member states and approved by the leaders' summit, in co-operation with the EU partners.
"Window" to find a solution
"No one knows if Putin has made a decision. "But an attack can happen at any time and the reinforcement of the Russian military forces is part of this framework", added the source who spoke to the French Agency.
Moscow, however, today considered a diplomatic solution "possible" and announced the end of some military exercises in the region.
The Guterres intervention
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had separate talks today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, his spokesman said.
"Guterres expressed" serious concern "to the two ministers about the growing tension in relations between the two countries," welcomed the ongoing diplomatic consultations to de-escalate the tension and reiterated that there is no alternative to diplomacy, "the spokesman said. UN Stefan Duzarik.
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