Ukraine crisis updates: What to know amid the fears of a war

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — High-stakes diplomacy continues to try to avert a war in Eastern Europe. The urgent efforts come as 100,000 Russian troops are massed near Ukraine’s border and the Biden administration worries that Russian President Vladimir Putin will mount some sort of invasion in the next several weeks. Russia’s top diplomat said Friday that Moscow will not start a war but also warned it wouldn’t allow the West to trample on its security interests. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that there is little room for compromise after the West rejected key Russian demands, including a guarantee that NATO never accept Ukraine as a member. Lavrov said that “while they say they won’t change their positions, we won’t change ours.”