Vladimir Putin suggests dialogue is still possible on Ukraine crisis

Vladimir Putin has suggested it is still not too late for dialogue over Ukraine, as the world continues to be left guessing whether the Russian president is on the brink of invading his neighbour, or whether his military buildup is a negotiating ploy.

Putin, who has taken to holding meetings with extreme social distancing owing to a fear of contracting Covid, gave his assent from the other end of an extremely long table.

The footage released from the meeting appeared carefully choreographed to send a message about Kremlin thinking.

Russia has massed an estimated 145,000 troops along various stretches of its border with Ukraine, in Belarus where joint military drills are taking place, and in Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

US officials said over the weekend that Russia had accelerated plans for an invasion and could launch a full-scale land and air assault as soon as Wednesday.

The change of mind two days later suggests that US security assessments have darkened still further.

Western diplomatic efforts to avert an invasion continued on Monday, with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Kyiv.