
US warns Russia is sounding 'drumbeats of war' against Ukraine as crisis talks end with no breakthrough
CNN
A senior US official warned Thursday that the "drumbeat of war is sounding loud" following a week's worth of diplomacy between the West and Russia that wrapped up Thursday.
The effort ended without clear breakthroughs over the tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed on the Ukrainian border, leaving prospects for future diplomacy and de-escalation in doubt as Russian officials suggested they could soon turn to military options.
Both US and Russian officials sounded a pessimistic note over the talks following Thursday's meeting in Vienna at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It was the third session that capped a week of intensive meetings that the United States and its NATO allies hoped could spur Russia to pursue a path of "de-escalation and diplomacy" rather than mobilizing the tens of thousands of Russian troops whose presence has swelled along Ukraine's borders.