Biden, Scholz discuss ‘diplomatic resolutions’ to Ukraine crisis

It's been a rollercoaster 24 hours on global stock markets, with huge swings on Wall Street and volatility hitting its highest level since October 2020. Investors are waiting for the decision from the US Federal Reserve on when it will start raising interest rates, but are also concerned about the rising tensions at Ukraine's border. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has slumped as low as $33,000, down over 50 percent from its peak in November. Our Business Editor Stephen Carroll has the details.

The West still doesn't know why war in Ukraine might happen, but it increasingly seems like it's happening. Kiev is trying to keep calm and rally support while being surrounded on three sides and being the recent victim of a cyberattack that feels like a dry run. Meanwhile, NATO countries are sending weapons and advisors while deploying fresh troops elsewhere in Eastern Europe. But that's small compared to the 100,000-plus forces amassed by Moscow.

President Joe Biden cast a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine in stark historical terms Tuesday, saying, “it would be the largest invasion since World War II.”

The EU has said it could withdraw financial aid from Burkina Faso and hit coup leaders with sanctions if "constitutional order" is not restored.

Russia still seems to be beefing up the military presence on its border with Ukraine, while Kyiv has received military support from the US and and its NATO allies. Germany won't send weapons to Ukraine, saying that would only escalate the situation.

As Antony Blinken responds in writing to Russia's demands for an overhaul of Eastern Europe's security architecture, in the same breath he urges American citizens in Ukraine to leave. This Wednesday's "Normandy Format" talks, including France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, serve as a reminder that Ukraine has already lost its territorial integrity – back in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea and supported the insurgency that's raged since in the southeast. So what is Moscow after this time?

"Let's Go Brandon" is the best-loved code insult for Joe Biden these days but would the Russians really go so far as to arrange military vehicles into shapes so that they spell out the insult in satellite photos? A satirical account on Twitter was at the origin of this fake news story. First off though, we take a look at confusion in Quebec over just how far-reaching new Covid-19 vaccine pass measures really are.

Joe Biden says he isn't ruling out personal sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin if he invades Ukraine. The threat from the US president comes as tensions between Moscow and the West continue to heat up. On Tuesday, the third instalment of US military equipment landed in Ukraine and more than 8,000 American troops stationed in Europe have been placed on standby.

With Russia massing 100,000 combat-ready troops just across Ukraine's eastern border, many fear an invasion is imminent. DW's Nick Connolly traveled to Ukraine's war-torn Donbass region and talked to residents and soldiers who live on the front line.

US President Joe Biden said hostage-taking by the Taliban is an act of "cowardice." Meanwhile, the UN accused the fundamentalist group of killing dozens of members and security forces of the former government.

With concern still high over a potential war between Russia and Ukraine, NATO's deputy secretary general spoke to FRANCE 24. Mircea Geoana told our Europe editor Catherine Nicholson: "NATO will not get involved militarily in Ukraine – we support Ukraine in many other ways, individual allies support Ukraine. And in order to deter Russia from doing that ... is to really demonstrate to the leadership in the Kremlin that in a cost-benefit analysis, an additional military intervention in Ukraine is a net loss for Russia."

"Everything is on the table" regarding new EU sanctions on Russia - but "de-escalation through diplomacy" remains the bloc's priority in the Ukraine crisis. So says EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders in an in-depth interview with FRANCE 24's Europe Editor Catherine Nicholson. The former Belgian foreign minister said the European Commission is preparing measures that could include individual sanctions on "people involved in the possible aggression – such as freezing their assets or a travel ban", as well as what he described as "concrete economic sanctions: transfer of technologies from Europe and in co-ordination with the United States; energy; and maybe financial services".