Ukraine-Russia crisis: What to know about the fears of war

On Tuesday, European leaders tried to reinvigorate the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow and NATO allies have put on a show of resolve by continuing to mobilize forces.

A new day of high-level, high-stakes diplomacy played out Tuesday with European leaders striving to reinvigorate stalled peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, as Moscow and NATO allies put on a show of resolve by continuing to mobilize their forces.

Here’s a look at what is happening where and why:

French President Emmanuel Macron said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin told him that he doesn’t plan to ramp up military tensions any further in Ukraine, nor will Moscow be keeping its troops in neighboring Belarus.

Speaking in Kyiv, where he held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Macron said Putin told him on Monday that “he won’t be initiating an escalation.” More than 100,000 Russian troops are deployed near Ukraine. Russian troop numbers in Belarus are expected to climb to 30,000. They’re in the country for joint war games, but the exercises are fueling tensions.

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Macron praised the “calm” and “self-restraint” of the Ukrainian authorities and people. Ukraine’s economy and currency have been hit by the tensions. Macron said Putin and Zelenskyy confirmed that they want to implement the Minsk peace agreement. Macron said the 2015 peace deal is “the only path on which peace can be built.”

Macron’s trying to revive the “Normandy Format” peace talks aimed at ending almost eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine in which more than 14,000 people have died. He said envoys from the four countries involved — France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine — will meet Thursday in Berlin.