President Vladimir Putin said in a shocking televised speech today that it was a "historical fact" that Ukraine was in Russia.
In a passionate speech aired tonight on Russia 24, the president spoke in detail about the historic relationship between Russia and its neighbor and former ally Ukraine.
After a long speech on regional history, Putin said that Russia has every right to protect its security. He also recognized the sovereignty of Donetsk and Luhansk, two separate regions of eastern Ukraine.
This recognition is a clear addition to a crisis that the West fears could lead to war.
Putin said the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 looted Russia before he complained about how Ukraine had treated Moscow after the Soviet Union. "Leaders want all the benefits of an alliance without any responsibility," he said.
He also accused Ukraine of becoming a US colony, claiming a "puppet government" and claiming that the country had "never had a tradition of its own state".
Putin has also used his rhetoric in recent years to fuel anti-NATO rhetoric, including that training centers set up on the territory of his western neighbor are on par with allied military bases.
He said NATO had completely ignored Russia's security demands and accused the West of trying to weed out key proposals for Moscow's security guarantees.
He told the Russians that Moscow had seen five waves of NATO expansion, despite promises that the alliance would not expand.
The Kremlin said Putin would soon sign a decree recognizing the two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine as independent entities.
The Kremlin said in a phone call that Putin had announced his decision in phone calls to the leaders of Germany and France, who had expressed frustration.
Ukraine was on the brink of war earlier today when Vladimir Putin claimed that talks to thwart the attack had reached a "final conclusion".
The Russian president was deciding whether to formally recognize the two breakaway regions of Ukraine, Luhansk and Donetsk, where Moscow-backed separatists have revolted against Kiev's rule.
The US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said such a move would be "regrettable and reprehensible".
Michael Carpenter warned: "If this were done, it would again result in the overthrow of the international system of law under the threat of force."
If he considers them part of Russia, he will use the Kremlin as an excuse to attack, claiming that he is working to protect his citizens.
Fighting in the east has been raging since 2014, when Moscow invaded and annexed Crimea. Mr Putin feared he would order troops to invade the Ukrainian border, and told his superiors: "We have been talking for eight years now. On top
As the drum beat for the war intensified and an estimated 190,000 Russian troops gathered on the border, US President Joe Biden called his national security team to the White House for crunch talks.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milly, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken were seen coming to the West Wing.
Earlier, efforts to defuse the conflict were expected to move forward as it was claimed that Mr Biden and Mr Putin could hold a summit to deepen the crisis - as long as the Russians The president did not order the attack.
The White House set the conditions for the talks when French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron acted as a mediator between Washington and Moscow. Elias son Palace said the Russian and US leaders had accepted the summit's principle, adding that meetings could only take place "provided Russia does not invade Ukraine."
A spokesman for Boris Johnson said at the dinner: "The important thing is that we still think there is a window for diplomacy."
But there was a lukewarm reception in Moscow, where Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Pesky insisted no plans had been reached for the summit.
He said it was too early to talk about specific plans for the summit.
A meeting is possible if the leaders consider it possible.
No date or location specified.
A possible meeting between Mr Blankenship and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lvov is set to be discussed on Thursday.
White House Press Secretary Jane Sickie said: "We are determined to continue our diplomacy until the attack is over."
But he added: "At the moment, Russia seems to be preparing for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine very soon."
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss held talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels. He later said that "diplomacy should be pursued, but there is a strong possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine."
"Britain and its allies are stepping up preparations for the worst. We must raise the price of Russia to unbearable levels."
In London, depressed Defense Minister Ben Wallace rejected Moscow's claims that its troops were retreating from the Ukrainian border, as he outlined the Kremlin's military formation.
He told MPs in an emergency Commons statement: "More than 110 battalion tactical groups are now concentrated around Ukraine's borders with Russia and Belarus.
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