A report that aired on MSNBC featured an infamous Ukrainian neo-Nazi group training civilians for combat as tensions over a possible Russian invasion grow.
On Monday's "Morning Joe," NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Richard Engel led a report on the ground about some communities in Ukraine "are taking matters into their own hands," showing militants in a training session in a room filled with civilians, calling it "basic training for the whole family." Engel's report highlighted a 79-year-old "great grandmother" learning how to use a rifle.
The crisis over Ukraine might be taking a new, but no less dangerous turn. While there are some signs of cautious hope in recent days, the Russian threat remains very real.
"There’s a feeling that it’s still a case of ‘bluff brinkmanship’ to the ‘nth degree,’" Bohdan Nahaylo, the editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Post, told Fox News.
Just this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country was "open to more diplomacy" and "ready to hold dialogue."
"The message we seem to be getting from Russia is that they’re ready to give diplomacy another chance," Mykhailo Wynnyckj, the author of "Ukraine’s Maidan, Russia’s War," noted to Fox.
Preside Biden on Tuesday said American service members will not be sent to fight in Ukraine.
"While I will not send American servicemen to fight in Ukraine, we have supplied the Ukrainian military equipment to help them defend themselves," Biden said during his address. "We provided training and advice and intelligence for the same purpose."
Biden also warned that the U.S. is committed to protecting NATO allies amid the rising tensions with Russia.
"Make no mistake, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power," Biden said. "An attack against one NATO country is an attack against all of us."
{{#rendered}}President Biden made a direct appeal to the citizens of Russia, warning against what would be a "bloody, destructive war" against Ukraine.
"To the citizens of Russia, you are not our enemy," Biden said during a Tuesday address. "And I do not believe you want a bloody destructive war against Ukraine, a country and the people with whom you share such deep ties of family history and culture."
In a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken "reiterated our ongoing concerns that Russia has the capacity to launch an invasion of Ukraine at any moment and emphasized the need to see verifiable, credible, meaningful de-escalation," the State Department says.
"He underscored that, while further Russian aggression against Ukraine would result in a swift, severe, and united Transatlantic response, we remain committed to the diplomatic path and believe that a window remains to resolve the crisis peacefully," the State Department added.
The president is set to speak this afternoon on the Ukraine situation.
{{#rendered}}Five hundred U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, are heading to Poland today to join other American forces in the region, a senior defense official tells Fox News' Jennifer Griffin.
The official said the troops are part of the 3,000 ordered last week by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to head to Europe in response to the Ukraine situation.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said Tuesday that its website "was probably attacked by a [distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack]: an excessive number of requests per second was recorded.
"Technical works on restoration of regular functioning are carried out," it added in a tweet.
The websites of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the country's army are currently down following a cyberattack, according to reports on Twitter citing Ukraine's Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security.
"The site is under maintenance." reads a message currently being displayed on the Ministry of Defense's website.
The reports also said two major Ukrainian banks -- Oschadbank and Privat Bank -- were affected, although the latter's website appears to be online again
{{#rendered}}Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow is ready for talks with the U.S. and NATO on limits for missile deployments and military transparency in Europe, according to the Associated Press.
The development comes after Russia announced it is pulling back some troops from military exercises that have raised fears of a potential invasion of Ukraine -- although British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said "the intelligence that we're seeing today is still not encouraging."
Speaking after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin said the U.S. and NATO rejected Moscow’s demand to keep Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations out of NATO, halt weapons deployments near Russian borders and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe.
But the U.S. and NATO have agreed to discuss a range of security measures that Russia had previously proposed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that "there are signs of a diplomatic opening" to resolve the Russia-Ukraine standoff, but "on the other hand, the intelligence that we're seeing today is still not encouraging."
Johnson, according to Reuters, said British intelligence suggests Russia is building field hospitals in Belarus near Ukraine's border, which can "certainly can be construed as preparation for an invasion."
"You've got more battalion tactical groups actually being brought closer to the border with Ukraine," he added.
"So mixed signals I think at the moment and all the more reason therefore for us to remain very tough and very united, particularly on the economic sanctions," Johnson reportedly said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Monday that he is "deeply worried by the heightened tensions and increased speculation about a potential military conflict in Europe.
"The price in human suffering, destruction and damage to European and global security is too high to contemplate," he continued.
"We simply cannot accept even the possibility of such a disastrous confrontation," Guterres added. "I will remain fully engaged in the hours and days to come. I just spoke this morning with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and of Ukraine."
{{#rendered}}Photos show Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sitting at a long table during their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday.
The table made headlines last week after French President Emmanuel Macron was seen photographed with Putin the same location.
Macron had refused a Russian COVID-19 test during his visit with Putin due to fears that Russian authorities could use the test to obtain his DNA, according to a report.
"We knew very well that meant no handshake and that long table. But we could not accept that they get their hands on the president's DNA," a source said, according to Reuters.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that "there are signs from Moscow that diplomacy should continue" and "this gives grounds for cautious optimism," but "so far we have not seen any sign of de-escalation on the ground from the Russian side," according to Reuters.
"Russia has amassed a fighting force in and around Ukraine unprecedented since the cold war. Everything is now in place for a new attack," Stoltenberg reportedly added. "But Russia still has time to step back from the brink, stop preparing for war and start working for a peaceful solution."
{{#rendered}}In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Russian army tanks stand ready to move back to their permanent base after drills in Russia.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that some troops, tanks and other military vehicles were heading back to bases, according to reports.
Reuters, citing Russia’s Interfax news agency, reported the units were in the Southern and Western military districts and wrapped up their military exercises. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called on Russia to remove all troops from the border if the country is serious about de-escalation.
“The Russians have claimed that they have no plans for an invasion, but we will need to see a full scale removal of troops to show that is true,” she said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday clarified a post on his personal Facebook page that said Wednesday “will be the day of the attack,” which was viewed by many as a warning of a Russia invasion.
His post read: The relevant decree has already been signed. On this day, we will hoist national flags, put on blue and yellow ribbons and show the world our unity. We have one great European aspiration -- we want freedom and are ready to fight for it. Fourteen thousand defenders and civilians killed in this war [against Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region] are watching us from the sky. And we will not betray their memory.
UPI reported that Zelenskyy’s aides played down the post and said his intention was to reassure Ukrainians and call for unity. -Edmund DeMarche
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