Months of diplomacy have failed to bring about a resolution to the situation, which has heightened fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been smoldering for more than two months, with diplomatic attempts to settle the conflict showing little evidence of progress in the meanwhile.
Russia has more than 100,000 soldiers stationed on its border with Ukraine, prompting Western governments to issue warnings of an impending invasion of the country.
That "hysteria" is dismissed as such by Moscow, which has consistently denied that Russia has any ambitions to invade and claims that it is only reacting to aggression by NATO partners.
Here is a chronology of the most important events that have occurred thus far.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claims that the key security needs of his country have not been met, but that Moscow is willing to continue discussions.
At a special closed-door session of the United Nations Security Council, the United States and Russia sparred over the Ukraine situation.
An invasion of Ukraine by Russia, according to US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, would pose a danger to world security.
Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's representative to the United Nations, accused the United States and its allies of escalating the danger of war despite Moscow's repeated denials of any planned invasion.
"The mere talk of the possibility of conflict is provocative in and of itself...." You're on the verge of begging for it. "You want it to happen," Nebenzya expressed his desire.
Ukraine's President Zelenkskyy has warned the West against inciting "fear," which he believes would have a bad impact on the country's economy.
The Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss, and the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, undertake unsuccessful discussions.
According to Lavrov, who gave a frosty news conference, the meeting was like "an exchange of words between two people who are deaf and dumb."
"The "facts" supplied by his staff on the issue "bounced off" their British colleagues, he went on to say in an interview.
Truss, who has threatened of harsh Western retaliation if Ukraine is invaded, has pressed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on his claim that Russia's buildup of soldiers and weapons poses no danger to anybody.
Biden and Putin communicate with one another through video conferencing. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the US president, would result in "widespread human misery." He said that the West was dedicated to dialogue to resolve the problem, but that it was also "equally prepared for alternative possibilities."
Putin complained in the phone conversation that the United States and NATO had not answered adequately to Russian requests that Ukraine be barred from joining the military alliance and that NATO soldiers be withdrawn from Eastern Europe, both of which were demanded by Russia.
In recent days, Yuri Ushakov, Putin's senior foreign policy adviser, claimed that although tensions had been growing for months, "the situation has just been taken to the point of absurdity."
He said that Biden brought up the possibility of sanctions on Russia, but that "this subject was not the emphasis of a rather lengthy chat with the Russian leader."
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
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