Ukraine crisis: Russian invasion could start at ‘any time’, White House warns – live updates | World news

More from White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on prospects for an invasion of Ukraine “at any time”.

“It remains unclear which path Russia will choose to take because we do not know, it is his [Putin’s] decision to make . We remain engaged with Russian government in full coordination with our allies and partners.

“The path for diplomacy remains available if Russia chooses, again, to engage constructively. But we’re clear-eyed about the prospects on the ground and we are ready to impose severe costs on Russia, in coordination with our allies and partners, if they attack Ukraine.”

White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has just warned that: “We are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time” in relation to the face-off between Russia and Ukraine.

At the daily media briefing at the White House a little earlier, Jean-Pierre added: “The path for diplomacy remains available … But we are clear-eyed about the prospects on the ground” with 100,000-plus Russian troops massed along the Ukraine border.

US president Joe Biden has just wrapped up a phone call with Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, where the two leaders discussed their latest positions in the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

They discussed efforts to reinforce the allies’ defensive posture on Nato’s eastern flank and their “readiness to impose severe consequences on Russia should it choose further military escalation”, according to the White House.

“The leaders discussed their recent diplomatic engagements with Ukraine and Russia. They also reviewed ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts in response to Russia’s continued military build-up on Ukraine’s borders and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House further said.

Hello to our live blog readers following events in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The news has been breaking fast and furious in recent hours and we’re bringing you all the developments – now from your team at Guardian US HQ in New York, who have recently taken over coverage from the team at the Guardian’s London global HQ.

We’ll take you through the next few hours before handing the baton to our Guardian US colleagues in California.

Here’s where things stand:

• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy just gave an address to his nation, posted in English on Facebook saying: “We are told that February 16 will be the day of attack.” He cites no sources for that prediction of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Biden administration is moving its remaining embassy staff in Ukraine from the capital Kyiv to the city of Lviv, further west, for safety reasons, as expectations of a Russian incursion continue to rise.
• The Pentagon warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin is adding more military force and capability near Ukraine’s border with each passing day.
• Russian oligarchs would be targeted with “severe” sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine, the UK’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on his visit to Zelenskiy in Kyiv earlier today that the “territorial integrity of Ukraine is not negotiable”. Scholz (who was elected to succeed the long-serving Angela Merkel) will be in Moscow tomorrow to talk to Putin.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that Wednesday 16 February, the day on which US intelligence believes a Russian invasion could take place, will be a day of national unity.

Published on the president’s website, Zelensky called on the country’s blue and yellow national flag to be hung on state buildings and other structures, and for the national anthem to be played nationwide at 10am on Wednesday.

The decree states that “urgent measures to consolidate Ukrainian society” are required in order “to strengthen the consolidation of Ukrainian society, strengthen its resilience in the face of growing hybrid threats, information and propaganda, moral and psychological pressure on the public consciousness.”

The United Nations has no plans to evacuate or relocate out of Ukraine any of its more than 1,600 staff, according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke separately on Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and still believed “from his own analysis, his own hopes” that there would not be a conflict, Dujarric said.

“He welcomed the ongoing diplomatic discussions to defuse those tensions and underlined, yet again, the fact that there is no alternative to diplomacy,” Dujarric said.

Latvian airline airBaltic is adding extra flights from Kyiv to the Latvian capital Riga, citing exceptional demand. The announcement came after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Latvian nationals to leave Ukraine at the earliest opportunity.

In a statement, the airline said the flights, scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday, are “to address the significant passenger demand”.

“AirBaltic is continuously evaluating the current situation and … is flexible and ready to adjust its flight schedule if necessary,” the statement said.

Ukraine’s National Police have entered a so-called “enhanced mode” to “ensure security and preparedness,” according to police Igor Klimenko. In a Facebook post on Monday, Klimenko said security measures would enter an “enhanced” mode until Saturday.

In practical terms, this means implementing an increased number of patrols to ensure public safety and order on the streets; the deployment of additional “situational centres” for 24-hour monitoring; and securing protection for critical infrastructure, public authorities and local governments.

He said the rationale for the enhanced mode is to “provide a more efficacious response to public safety threats”, adding: “This stricter police regime should not be cause for alarm. It is necessary to ensure security and preparedness. We protect, not panic!”