Ominous Signs Emerge in Russia-Ukraine Standoff

Days after tensions over Ukraine appeared to be easing, the situation is rapidly deteriorating. The US and NATO say Russia is building up its force at Ukraine's border, not pulling back as it claimed, and President Biden believes an invasion could happen within days. "Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine, attack Ukraine," the president said Thursday. Biden said the US has "reason to believe" that Russia is "engaged in a false flag operation to have an excuse to go in," the AP reports. He added that he has no plans to speak to Vladimir Putin. Developments:

• Moscow expels US diplomat. Biden said Thursday that a diplomatic solution is still possible, but the US is down one diplomat: The Russian government has expelled Deputy Chief of Mission Bart Gorman, the second-ranked diplomat at the US embassy in Moscow, the Washington Post reports. In a statement, the State Department called the expulsion "unprovoked" and an "escalatory step."

• Blinken says Russia plans to "manufacture pretext." Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to the United Nations Security Council Thursday and said US intelligence strongly indicates that Russia plans to "manufacture a pretext" for an attack. "We don’t know exactly the form it will take. It could be a fabricated so-called terrorist bombing inside Russia," he said, per the Guardian. "The invented discovery of the mass grave, a staged drone strike against civilians, or a fake—even a real—attack using chemical weapons. He said Russia might describe the event as genocide, "making a mockery of a concept that we in this chamber do not take lightly."
• Defense secretary sees ominous signs. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is in Brussels for talks with NATO leaders, said Russia was moving troops closer to the border and stocking up on blood supplies, the New York Times reports. "I was a soldier myself not that long ago," Austin said. "I know firsthand that you don’t do these sorts of things for no reason. And you certainly don’t do them if you’re getting ready to pack up and go home."
• Allegations of ceasefire violations. Ukrainian authorities and pro-Moscow rebels who control parts of eastern Ukraine accused each other of ceasefire violations Thursday, reports the Wall Street Journal. Ukraine said two teachers at a kindergarten were injured when a government-controlled area was shelled. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukrainian forces had stepped up their activities in the region and the "situation at the borders of Russia may ignite at any moment." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the front line of the Donetsk conflict Thursday.

(More Ukraine stories.)