Putin 'orders Ukraine invasion': Intelligence sources claim Russian troops 'are making final battle plans' with armoured tanks painted with letter 'Z' heading to border despite Macron pleading for peace in two-hour phone call to the Kremlin
- President Putin has allegedly given Russian troops orders to invade Ukraine after, intelligence sources said
- Russian troops were said to be making final battle plans as they plan to invade, US intelligence claimed
- Armoured tanks from Russia sprayed with 'Z' marking suspected to be for allocated roles in imminent invasion
- Putin and Belarusian President Lukashenko extended military drills in Belarus that were due to end Sunday
- A British expat has said small community will 'fight like devils' with Ukraine in event of a Russian incursion
- Convoys were spotted in Russia and Belarus and there was intense shelling in Lugansk, eastern Ukraine
- It comes as explosions are believed to have been heard in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, late on Saturday
- That followed 1,500 ceasefire violations having been reported in east Ukraine in one day - highest this year
- Russian journalist has also said Liz Truss showed herself to be 'a fool' and 'arrogant' during trip to Moscow
Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine, intelligence sources in the US claimed on Sunday afternoon.
Sources alleged Russian commanders on the ground have received orders to proceed with an invasion of Kiev and they are now making specific battle plans on how they will attack.
No less than 75 per cent of Putin's conventional forces are now poised at the Ukrainian border, it emerged tonight, as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned that 'we are on the brink of an invasion'.
It is thought Moscow will start the invasion with a cyber-assault before unleashing a campaign of missile and airstrikes before ground troops attempt to take Ukrainian cities and towns, reports CBS News. The invading Russian force reportedly has the ability to invade and take much of the country.
The dire warnings come as Putin and his ally Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko extended military drills in Belarus that were due to end on Sunday, meaning an estimated 30,000 Russian troops will remain there.
The concentration of 150,000 Russian soldiers, warplanes and equipment within striking distance of Ukraine – including as many as 500 fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft – is highly unusual and part of the reason the US believes Russia is ready to attack, a US official told CNN.
It came as a Russian invasion force of armoured tanks painted with the letter 'Z' and huge convoys were seen rolling towards the Ukraine border - as the eastern region continues to be rocked by shelling and British expats have vowed to 'fight like devils'.
Around 200 military vehicles were spotted in Shebekino, Russia, just across the border from Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast, with 'Z' markings 'applied hastily' to the backs of most vehicles.
It is suspected the markings have been allocated for specific roles amid rising tensions over an imminent invasion, with footage showing the letters sprayed on tanks, self-propelled guns, fuel trucks and supply vehicles.
Amid the soaring tensions, French President Emmanuel Macron pleaded for peace from his Russian counterpart during a two-hour phone call today – but Putin blamed Ukrainian 'provocations' for the escalating crisis that could turn into all-out war.
Russian armoured tanks painted with a letter 'Z' and huge convoys are moving towards the Ukraine border. It is suspected the markings have been allocated for specific roles amid rising tensions over an imminent invasion - as shelling rocked the east of the country
The tactic mirrors that used by UK and US forces in the First Gulf War when the allied invasion sent to liberate Kuwait marked vehicles with a distinctive upturned chevron [^] to avoid friendly fire once action begins
It is suspected the markings have been allocated for specific roles amid rising tensions over an imminent invasion, with footage showing the letters sprayed on tanks, self-propelled guns, fuel trucks and supply vehicles
No less than 75 per cent of Vladimir Putin's conventional forces are now poised at the Ukrainian border, it emerged tonight, as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned that 'we are on the brink of an invasion'
Memebers of the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) on ceasefire and stabilization of the demarcation line inspect a house damaged in a shelling by Ukrainian troops near the village of Pionerskoye
A car bomb in Donetsk close to the Government House building at around 7pm on Saturday. It comes as 1,500 ceasefire violations were reported in east Ukraine in one day
It comes as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he believed Putin is 'moving forward' which his decision, a move the Kremlin has denied.
The concentration of Russian forces within striking distance of Ukraine – including as many as 500 fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft - is highly unusual and part of the reason the US believes Russia is ready to attack, a US official told CNN.
This includes some 120 of Russia's total estimated 160 Battalion Tactical Groups or BTGs which are positioned within 38 miles of Ukraine, according to the official. While that figure represents 75% of Russia's principal combat units, it is less than half of the total troops in the Russian military.
US officials have reported that Russian troops combined with separatist forces could number as high as 190,000 deployed around Ukraine.
Some 35 of 50 air defence battalions are deployed against Ukraine. In addition, the US estimates some 500 fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft are within range of Ukraine, as well as 50 medium to heavy bombers.
Together, the Russian forces now vastly outnumber Ukrainian military forces, according to the assessment.
One British expat said he was part of a small community ready to help armed resistance volunteers and 'fight like devils' in the event of an invasion.
He told the BBC: 'We are here, we are ready to fight and we will fight like devils, I tell you. There is a small expat community here but we will join with our Ukrainian partners, our Ukrainian friends and Ukrainian family.'
Russia will also extend military drills in Belarus that were due to end on Sunday, the Belarusian defence ministry announced, in a step Blinken said made him more worried about an imminent invasion.
The defence ministry said the decision was taken because of military activity near the borders of Russia and Belarus as well as the situation in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.
Sporadic shelling across the line dividing Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in that region increased sharply last week and continued on Sunday.
Speaking to CNN, Blinken said all signs suggested Russia was about to invade. Russia has repeatedly denied such plans.
'Everything we are seeing suggests that this is dead serious, that we are on the brink of an invasion,' Blinken said, adding that the West was equally prepared if Moscow invades.
'Until the tanks are actually rolling, and the planes are flying, we will use every opportunity and every minute we have to see if diplomacy can still dissuade President (Vladimir) Putin from carrying this forward.'
Blinken told CBS: 'Everything we're seeing tells us that the decision we believe President Putin has made to invade is moving forward.
'We've seen that with provocations created by the Russians or separatist forces over the weekend, false flag operations, now the news just this morning that the 'exercises' Russia was engaged in in Belarus with 30,000 Russian forces that was supposed to end this weekend will now continue because of tensions in eastern Ukraine, tensions created by Russia and the separatist forces it backs there.'
Meanwhile, the call between Macron and Putin on Sunday led to the leaders agreeing on 'the need to favour a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis and to do everything to achieve one.'
But during the call, Putin told the French leader that Western countries should give point-by-point responses to sweeping demands set by Moscow last December to limit the West's role in eastern Europe and ex-Soviet countries
The Kremlin said the supply of weapons and ammunition by NATO countries to Ukraine was pushing Kyiv towards a 'military solution' against separatists in the country's east.
'As a result, civilians... who have to evacuate to Russia to escape the intensifying shelling, suffer,' the Kremlin added.
Explosions late on Saturday shook eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting the pro-Russia rebels since 2014 in a conflict that has killed some 14,000 people.
Hundreds of artillery shells have exploded along the contact line between Ukrainian soldiers and Russia-backed separatists, further increasing fears that the volatile region could see a Russian invasion.
Ukraine and the separatist leaders traded accusations of escalation. Russia on Saturday said at least two shells fired from a government-held part of eastern Ukraine landed across the border, but Ukraine's foreign minister dismissed that claim as 'a fake statement.'
'When tension is escalated to the maximum, as it is now, for example, on the line of contact, then any spark, any unplanned incident or any minor planned provocation can lead to irreparable consequences,' Putin' spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview that aired Sunday on Russian state television.
On the front lines, Ukrainian soldiers said they were under orders not to return fire. Zahar Leshushun, peering into the distance with a periscope, had followed the news all day from a trench where he is posted near the town of Zolote.
'Right now, we don't respond to their fire because...' the Ukrainian soldier said before being interrupted by the sound of an incoming shell. 'Oh! They are shooting at us now. They are aiming at the command post.'
Thousands of civilians have been evacuated from increasingly barraged front line regions, where Kyiv said two of its soldiers had died in an attack yesterday - the first fatalities in the conflict for more than a month.
Separatist leaders have ordered a full military mobilization and sent more civilians to Russia, which has issued about 700,000 passports to residents of the rebel-held territories. Claims that Russian citizens are being endangered might be used as justification for military action.
Sporadic violence has broken out for years along the line separating Ukrainian forces from the Russia-backed separatists, but the spike in recent days is orders of magnitude higher than anything recently recorded by international monitors: nearly 1,500 explosions in 24 hours.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russia separatist government in Ukraine's Donetsk region, cited an 'immediate threat of aggression' from Ukrainian forces in his announcement of a call to arms. Ukrainian officials vehemently denied having plans to take rebel-controlled areas by force.
Military hardware of Russian Army Western Military District tank army units loaded onto a troop train as it returns from recent routine drills to permanent deployment sites
A convoy of tanks 25km from the Ukraine border as it is confirmed that Russian military exercises in Belarus will continue on Sunday
Russian tanks pictured leaving the border with Ukraine on Friday following the completion of joint exercises with Belarus as diplomatic tensions continue to mount over fears of an imminent invasion
Putin and Macron said during their phone call they would work 'intensely' to allow the Trilateral Contact Group, which includes Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE, to meet 'in the next few hours with the aim of getting all interested parties to commit to a ceasefire at the contact line' in eastern Ukraine where government troops and pro-Russian separatists are facing each other.
'Intense diplomatic work will take place in the coming days,' Macron's office said, with several consultations to take place in the French capital.
Macron and Putin also agreed that talks between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany should resume to implement the so-called Minsk protocol, which in 2014 had already called for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.
Both also agreed to work towards 'a high-level meeting with the aim of defining a new peace and security order in Europe', Macron's office said.
In Sunday's call, Putin told Macron that he intends to withdraw Russian troops from Belarus as soon as ongoing military exercises there are over, the Elysee also said.
The French presidency said that this claim 'will have to be verified', adding it appeared to contradict a statement by the Belarusian government that the Russian military would 'continue inspections' beyond Sunday's previously announced end of the exercises, leaving Moscow with a large force near the northern Ukraine border.
Meanwhile, Russia on Sunday night issued a NOTAM (Notice to airmen), declaring the Sea of Azov a no-fly zone for commercial flights. The area concerned bordered the crucial Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which is close to the line of contact between Ukraine's and the pro-Russian forces.
The move was seen as a possible precursor to a seaborne invasion of Ukraine from the flotilla of six massive landing ships which the Russian Navy has amassed in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, each of which can carry ten main battle tanks and 300 troops.
The vessels and their deadly cargo would open up yet another line of attack for the Russians alongside their massive troop build-ups already in place on Ukraine's eastern and northern borders.
The ships, all part of Russia's Northern and Baltic Fleets, made the tortuous journey around western Europe, through the Strait of Gibraltar and right across the Mediterranean.
It came as a Russian invasion force of armoured tanks painted with the letter 'Z' and huge convoys were seen rolling towards the Ukraine border in Shebekino, Russia.
Independent Russian Telegram channel Hunter's Notes, which closely monitors military movements, said 'all equipment [marked with 'Z'] was seen near Kursk and in the Shebekino region of Belgorod' on the border with Ukraine.
The tactic mirrors that used by UK and US forces in the First Gulf War when the allied invasion sent to liberate Kuwait marked vehicles with a distinctive upturned chevron [^] to avoid friendly fire once action begins.
The Ukraine War Report account on Twitter, which posts about Russian troop movements near Ukraine, said: 'Numerous videos are being uploaded of Russian military vehicles with 'Z' markings. Our assessment is it's 'friend or foe' identification markings used by armies during wartime.'
Military analyst Rob Lee wrote on Twitter: 'It appears Russian forces near the border are painting markers, in this case 'Z', on vehicles to identify different task forces or echelons.'
'It would suggest final preparations are complete,' a source in Ukraine told The Sun. 'The Ukrainians have very similar tanks and vehicles and [the Russians] will want to reduce the risk of friendly fire.'
It was suggested Russian troops also have the letter 'Z' on their military packs, which could support the friendly fire theory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for Vladimir Putin to meet him for talks amid the escalating crisis, saying 'I don't know what the president of the Russian Federation wants', but that Ukraine would continue 'to follow only the diplomatic path'.
The Kremlin insists it has no incursion plans, but its test-firing of nuclear-capable missiles Saturday did little to alleviate tensions.
British and US intelligence has also suggested that Putin has already issued a 'go' order to trigger his invasion plan.
It is expected that Russia will follow false flag operations and brushes with Ukrainian military in the Donbas region with an attack led by separatist groups, before Russian troops 'take a bite out of Ukraine' or launch a full invasion, The Sunday Times reports.
A security source added: 'I would expect a massive opening salvo to try to remove the government in Kyiv. The Russians have positioned cruise missiles to take out the capital.'
Dmitry Polyanskiy, the first deputy permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, has also accused the West of 'warmongering' by creating an 'artificial crisis' in Ukraine.
He told Sky News' Trevor Phillips On Sunday programme that Moscow had the 'right to be concerned' by the placement of Nato infrastructure and troops 'near our border'.
President Zelenskyy made his plea for talks with Putin hours after separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilisation and Western leaders warned a Russian invasion of its neighbour appeared imminent.
US Vice President Kamala Harris also today warned that 'we are talking about the real possibility of war in Europe'.
She added the US would impose 'some of the greatest, if not strongest' sanctions 'ever issued' in the event of a Russian invasion.
However, Belarusian Defence Minister Victor Khrenin has confirmed that joint exercises involving Russia and Belarus forces are being extended, despite promises from Moscow that the drills would end this weekend.
He said: 'The presidents of Belarus and Russia decided to continue inspections of the readiness of Union State forces.'
Mr Khrenin added that the decision was taken due to increased military activity along the Belarusian and Russian borders and because of an 'escalation' in east Ukraine.
The drills in Belarus - which had been due to conclude Sunday - have exacerbated already soaring tensions.
The Belarus defence ministry said upcoming stages of the large-scale drills would continue the aim of ensuring a sufficient military response to any external threats. It did not specify an end date.
In new signs of fears that a war could start within days, Germany and Austria told their citizens to leave Ukraine. German air carrier Lufthansa cancelled flights to the capital Kyiv and to Odessa, a Black Sea port that could be a key target in an invasion.
Fears of tensions boiling over were backed up by figures released Saturday by the OSCE, which showed there were more than 1,400 explosions in the rebel held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk on Friday.
The OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission that is deployed in the conflict zone said it had logged 553 explosions in Donetsk and a further 860 in neighbouring Luhansk - adding that it had confirmed one civilian casualty in a government-controlled area of Donetsk.
It put the total number of ceasefire violations on Friday at more than 1,500, compared with 870 the day before, suggesting an upwards trajectory of gunfire and mortars.
Ukraine's Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy experienced the clashes first-hand Saturday, ducking for cover as mortar shells fell within a few hundred metres of him while he toured the frontline with reporters.
The Kremlin insists it has no incursion plans, but its test-firing of nuclear-capable missiles Saturday did little to alleviate tensions. Russia has also been holding joint exercises with Belarus at a firing range near Brest (pictured)
A mixed air striking group performs a bomb strike during the Allied Resolve 2022 joint military drills held by Belarusian and Russian troops at the Obuz-Lesnovsky training ground
A T-72B tank takes part in the Allied Resolve 2022 joint military drills held by Belarusian and Russian troops at the Obuz-Lesnovsky training ground
Photos released by Belarus' Ministry of Defence show Russian and Belarusian soldiers shaking hands while taking part in joint operations in Brest
Terrified Donetsk civilians made to 'evacuate' to Russia by rebels
It came as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Saturday during a visit to Lithuania that Russian troops dotted along Ukraine's border are 'uncoiling' and 'poised to strike'.
The origin of the explosions over the weekend are not clear, while there was no immediate comment from separatist authorities or from Kyiv.
Last-ditch diplomatic efforts were underway on Sunday to prevent what Western powers warn a catastrophic European war as Mr Macron was to call his Putin as ceasefire monitors and Ukrainian commanders reported intense shelling in eastern Ukraine.
Macron met Putin on February 7 and has since, along with fellow Western leaders like Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, been urging his Russian counterpart to pull back from the brink of war.
Sunday's call, Macron's office said, represented 'the last possible and necessary effort to avoid a major conflict in Ukraine'.
But in a new suspected stunt the pro-Moscow rebel authority in Donetsk claim to have detained a Ukrainian spy who was said to be confessing to Kyiv's aims to overrun the Donbas.
Anton Matsanyuk is alleged to have 'confirmed that Kyiv intends to use all its strike power in the forcible seizure of the Donbas', one report said.
The alleged saboteur conveniently confirmed a plan touted in recent days by Russia of a Ukrainian plan to invade Donetsk and Luhansk.
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the media following an appearance at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday. She warned the US would impose 'some of the greatest, if not strongest' sanctions 'ever issued'
Prime Minister Boris Johnson greets the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy for bilateral talks during the Munich Security Conference on Saturday
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) in Moscow earlier this month. The pair have shared a phone call today amid rising tensions over an imminent invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers keep morale in trenches near conflict zone
This detailed offensive plan, which fell into the hands of Donetsk intelligence officers, was broadcast by Channel One.
He was also linked to a plan to blow up the car belonging to Denis Sinenkov, the head of the people's militia directorate of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said Russian TV. The car was blown up in what the West say was a false flag operation on February 18.
Russian TV claimed Matsanyuk had access to classified information on Donetsk leaders, and that it was by 'sheer luck' Sinenkov was not inside his vehicle.
'I was recruited in 2018', he said as he claimed he was an agent of Ukrainian military intelligence.
Matsanyuk was allegedly forming a 'sleeping cell' to stage 'terrorist attacks' on orders from Ukraine.
In a claimed confession, he said: 'When the 'H-Hour' comes, they will be instructed to place the caches with improvised explosive devices [IEDs], so that in the future these IEDs will be installed in critical facilities of the DPR; these are bridges, this is a crowd of people, these are railway crossings, also on the routes of the first people in the republic and against military motorcades.'
It comes after Jens Stoltenberg, NATO chief, warned that the risk of a Russian attack is 'very high', echoing US warnings that Russian troops dotted along Ukraine's border are 'uncoiling' and 'poised to strike'.
'Every indication indicates that Russia is planning a full-fledged attack against Ukraine,' Stoltenberg told German broadcaster ARD on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
'We all agree that the risk of an attack is very high.'
The United States dominates NATO, and US President Joe Biden on Friday said he was 'convinced' Russia was going to invade Ukraine within the week, and have its forces target Ukraine's capital Kyiv.
The US recently sent nearly 5,000 troops to NATO ally Poland, in addition to the 4,000 that are on a permanent rotation in the country. The aim is to reassure a nervous ally amid fears that Russia could attack Ukraine.
The US recently sent nearly 5,000 troops to NATO ally Poland, in addition to the 4,000 that are on a permanent rotation in the country. The aim is to reassure a nervous ally amid fears that Russia could attack Ukraine
US intelligence sources have claimed Russia is 'making final battle plans'. It is thought Russia will start the invasion with a cyber-assault before unleashing a campaign of missile and airstrikes.
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