Tensions Rise, Zelensky Invites Putin to Meet

MUNCHEN – President Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky calls for President Russia Vladimir Putin to meet and seek a resolution to the crisis. The call comes in the face of a sharp spike in violence in and around territory held by Russia-backed rebels and increasingly dire warnings that Russia is planning to attack.

“I don’t know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I proposed a meeting,” Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference, where he also met US Vice President Kamala Harris.

Zelenskyy said Russia could choose a location for talks.

“Ukraine will continue to follow only the diplomatic path for a peaceful settlement,” he added.

There has been no immediate response from the Kremlin regarding Zelensky’s invitation.

Zelensky spoke hours after separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered full military mobilization on Saturday, as Western leaders increasingly warned that a Russian invasion of its neighbor seemed imminent.

Also read: Conflict Eats Victims, Ukrainian Soldier Dies in Separatist Territories

In new signs of fear that war could start within days, Germany and Austria have told their citizens to leave Ukraine. German airline Lufthansa canceled flights to the capital, Kyiv, and to Odessa, a Black Sea port that could be a prime target in an invasion.

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