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"We are looking to see Russia take meaningful actions to deescalate, to stop the violence that it’s perpetrating in Ukraine and to engage in good-faith talks," Blinken said.

Blinken said this would be an attempt to make Ukrainians dependent on Moscow.

"We believe China in particular has a responsibility to use its influence on President [Vladimir] Putin and to defend the International rules and principles that it professes to support," Blinken said. "Instead it appears that China is moving in the opposite direction by refusing to condemn this aggression while seeking to portraying itself as a neutral arbiter and we are concerned that they are considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine. President Biden will be speaking with President Xi tomorrow and will make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression and we will not hesitate to impose costs."

"We need to station more troops there [in the eastern flank], however, this is explicitly on the basis of the NATO-Russia basic act because it has made clear again and again that the voluntary commitments that were part of this agreement take place within the framework of a security environment and the breach of this is something that Russia has carried out, which means that we see ourselves in a position that we must reinforce our strengths there," Baerbock said during her joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Refugee centers have been opened in Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante.

A flag of the US state of Tennessee was found in the backpack of one of the mercenaries. Personal items found on the scene made it possible to identify the three individuals - Capt. Michael Hawker, Lt. Logan Shrum and Lt. Cruz Toblin, the DPR militia said.

Germany will offer full integration to refugees from Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday, adding that no one considers their arrival to be short-term.

"This is a different migration compared to what we have seen in recent years. We are talking about a large number of children and women, the elderly. Many men did not leave Ukraine because they are liable for military service... Will many decide to return or, in view of the great destruction, new ones will arrive, and men will join their families in Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom... and find initial perspectives in their own lives ... We must not repeat the mistake that at the beginning of such a development the emphasis would be on that it is temporary. From the very beginning, we must proceed from the fact that a perspective for integration is created - in kindergartens, schools, on the labor market," Scholz told a press conference in Berlin.

The French president mentioned that he visited Moscow and Kiev in early February where there still was a "chance for peace."

"I'm not ruling out anything, but I'll do it [visit Kiev] when it's useful," Macron added.

Last week, the Lithuanian government agreed to allocate an additional 40.43 million euros to the defence ministry to provide for the deployment of NATO troops in the country.

Zelensky has addressed the US Congress, the Parliament of Canada and Germany’s Bundestag in in a bid to bolster support for his war efforts and secure more military assistance.

"Their [Russia-Ukraine] ceasefire talks are going on and, of course, we support that and we want to see a negotiated settlement," Kirby told Bloomberg in an interview.

Kirby added that nobody wants to see the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to escalate beyond the territory of Ukraine.

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's brutality and what he's doing, what his troops are doing in Ukraine is just inhumane," Biden said during a virtual meeting with the Taoiseach of Ireland Michael Martin.

"The suspension of tax information exchange will ensure the UK is not supplying Russia and Belarus with information that could lead to an increased tax benefit or yield for them."

"Yes, should there be a proper replacement or that we have a capability guarantee for a certain period of time, then we would be willing to discuss the future of the S-300 system," Nad said at a joint press briefing with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

He also said that Washington "sent additional US forces to reenforce our NATO allies and we have more on call ready to go if NATO activates its response forces."