The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, challenged his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to meet him in the Donbas region (east of the country) for a meeting that would put an end to the conflict, while Moscow called on Ukraine and NATO to desist from actions that lead to further escalation .
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Ukraine and NATO were continuing their military preparations.
In return, the Ukrainian president signed a law facilitating the call-up of reservists;
To strengthen the country's eastern front in the event of a war, he said that the Ukrainian forces were ready to deal with any developments.
Zelensky had challenged his Russian counterpart to meet him in the Donbas region (eastern Ukraine) to hold a meeting in which they would discuss an end to the conflict in the region.
Today, Putin warned his country's opponents against crossing "red lines" against Russia, and said in his annual speech to the two Houses of Parliament, "I hope that no one will think about crossing the red lines."
Truce negotiations
On Tuesday, Ukraine announced that "great progress" had been made in the negotiations aimed at resuming the truce with the pro-Russian separatists in its eastern lands, where clashes escalated amid tensions with Moscow.
"There is great progress" in the ceasefire file, said Oleksiy Aristovich, spokesman for the Ukrainian delegation participating in these virtual talks.
The "emergency" meeting, which was held Tuesday, and attended by representatives of Ukraine, Russia and separatists, mediated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, follows online talks Monday evening between advisers to the presidents of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and Russia.
The Ukrainian president also expressed his hope that these talks would allow a return to a truce on the front.
Crowds and maneuvers
In terms of international follow-ups of the tension, the commander of the US Strategic Command said that Russia is conducting military maneuvers unparalleled since the Cold War.
For his part, the US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, discussed with his British counterpart, Ben Wallace, the issue of the Russian crowds on the Ukrainian border and the Crimean peninsula.
The American Wall Street Journal also published satellite images of Russian military equipment near Ukraine and the Crimea peninsula.
The newspaper reported that Russia has transferred warplanes to the peninsula and military bases near Ukraine, more than previously disclosed.
The pictures showed, according to the newspaper, other Russian military units in the peninsula, including air forces, armored units, helicopters and drones.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuliba, has confirmed that Russia will soon have more than 120,000 troops on his country's borders.
"Russian forces will continue to arrive near our borders in the south, and within about a week, the size of the combined forces is expected to exceed 120,000," he said during an Internet press conference, Tuesday.
The war in Donbas has resulted in the deaths of more than 13 thousand people and the displacement of about 1.5 million people since its outbreak 7 years ago, after Moscow annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.