Russian, UK defense ministers to meet over Ukraine
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The United Kingdom has advised against travel to Ukraine and Crimea, citing security concerns, but will hold talks with Moscow over Kyiv.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits troops in his country's eastern region.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has accepted an invitation to meet his British counterpart Ben Wallace to discuss the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, a senior UK defense source said Saturday.
"The Defense Secretary is glad that Russia has accepted the invitation to talk with his counterpart," the source said.
Given the last bilat at the defensive level that took place between Moscow and London in the UK in 2013, the source noted, "Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigy has offered to meet in Moscow instead.
Mounting security concerns over Ukraine come as the West accuses Russia of planning an invasion of its western neighbor despite Moscow dismissing these allegations.
Russia insists that it has no intention of attacking any country, seeing the Western accusations as a pretext to deploy more NATO military equipment close to Russia's borders.
Britain's Foreign Office on Saturday updated its travel advice to Ukraine in light of the crisis.
London now advises against all travel to Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as Crimea.
During Russian-US talks on the situation in Ukraine, the two sides focused on infighting in Ukraine, and they stressed the necessity of Kyiv implementing a full set of measures as quickly as possible to establish direct dialogue with the authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.
The UK advises against all but essential travel to the rest of Ukraine, saying all British nationals are advised to register their presence in the country.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned Friday that Moscow risks becoming "embroiled" in a "terrible quagmire" if it invades its western neighbor.
During a speech in Australia, Truss issued bluntly and personally warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he was "on the brink" of making a major strategic blunder.
He "has not learned the lessons of history," Truss told Sydney's Lowy Institute.
The United Kingdom is among a handful of Western countries providing lethal weaponry to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Germany blocked its NATO ally Estonia from providing Ukraine with German-made military equipment in light of the latter's efforts to strengthen its armed forces against the backdrop of concerns over Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
