Diplomatic shuttle: Macron heads to Kyiv after Putin talks

Diplomatic efforts to defuse the tensions around Ukraine continued on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron expected in Kyiv

KYIV, Ukraine -- Diplomatic efforts to defuse the tensions around Ukraine continued on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron expected in Kyiv the day after hours of talks with the Russian leader in Moscow yielded no apparent breakthroughs.

Macron is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as fears of a possible Russian invasion mount. Moscow has massed over 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, but insists it has no plans to attack Ukraine. The Kremlin has demanded guarantees from the West that NATO will not accept Ukraine and other former Soviet nations as members, halt weapon deployments there and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe — demands the U.S. and NATO reject as nonstarters.

Western leaders in recent weeks have engaged in high-level diplomacy in the hope of de-escalating the tensions and preventing an attack.

Macron sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday for talks that lasted more than five hours. After the long meeting, the two leaders emphasized the need for more talks, while also registering their disagreements.