Earlier on Wednesday,Blinken’s top deputy,Wendy R. Sherman,said the United States sees “every indication that[Russian President Vladimir Putin] is going to use military force sometime” soon. She said it was likely between “now and the middle of February,” while speaking in an online conversation with the Estonian president that was hosted by the Yalta European Strategy,a forum to discuss the future of Ukraine and Europe.

There was no immediate response from Russia but Russian officials have warned that Moscow would quickly take “retaliatory measures” if the US and its allies reject its demands.

European meeting

In another development,presidential advisers from Russia,Ukraine,France and Germany met for more than five hours in Paris on Wednesday over the long-running conflict in the eastern part of the country between Moscow-backed separatists. Although there was no breakthrough,they promised to meet for new talks in two weeks in Berlin.

The French president’s office said in a statement after the talks that the parties support “unconditional respect” for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.

The talks focused on the 2015 Minsk peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict,and the statement didn’t address the current concerns about a Russian invasion.

Ukrainian representative Andriy Yermak said the meeting went hours longer than expected and marked the first real advance in talks since December 2019. He said the talked organised by the French and Germans were crucial “even when things were not so tense and now we know it more than ever”.

The UK is considering deploying hundreds of troops to Eastern Europe ahead of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine,The Telegraph reported on Thursday,citing unnamed security sources.

Government sources confirmed that “very advanced discussions” are under way after reports emerged from Washington that the US,UK and a handful of NATO allies are in talks about bolstering their military presence on the coalition’s eastern flank,The Telegraph said.

Between now and mid-February

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman,who has been involved in talks,said China’s President Xi Jinping would “not be ecstatic” if Russia were to invade Ukraine as Beijing’s Winter Olympic Games begin early next month.

“We all are aware that the Beijing Olympics are beginning on February 4th,the opening ceremony,and President Putin expects to be there. I think that probably President Xi Jinping would not be ecstatic if Putin chose that moment to invade Ukraine,” Sherman said. “So that may affect his timing and his thinking.”

Germany offers helmets

Germany will supply 5000 military helmets to Ukraine to help defend against a possible Russian invasion,it said on Wednesday - an offer Kyiv mayor and former world champion boxer Vitali Klitschko dismissed as “a joke” that left him “speechless”.

Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said Berlin,which hasfaced growing criticism of its refusal to supply arms to Ukraine as other Western countries have done,was responding to a request for military equipment,specifically helmets.

NATO membership

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels that the alliance had sent a separate reply to Russia with an offer to improve communications,examine ways to avoid military incidents or accidents,and discuss arms control. But,like Blinken,he rejected any attempt to halt membership.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied it has plans to attack Ukraine,but the US and NATO are worried about Russia massing its troops near Ukraine and conducting a series of sweeping military manoeuvres.

As part of the drills,motorised infantry and artillery units in southwestern Russia practiced firing live ammunition,warplanes in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea performed bombing runs,dozens of warships sailed for training exercises in the Black Sea and the Arctic,and Russian fighter jets and paratroopers arrived in Belarus for joint war games.

AP,Reuters

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