There were new reports of violence and ceasefire violations Friday as the crisis entered a tense new day.
American officials continued to push for a diplomatic solution while Russian forces prepared to conduct more drills.
Russia has been building up its military presence just outside of Ukraine. The Kremlin's moves remind Western officials of when Russian forces invaded the peninsula.
President Joe Biden warned Russia's leader that it could face a lot of economic sanctions if it launched an attack on Ukraine.
Even as stock futures pointed to a higher open after the worst day of the year, investors were still tense.
The Ukrainian government and Russian state-controlled media accused each other of violating the cease-fire.
There were 20 cease-fire violations recorded in eastern Ukraine on Friday.
Russian state-controlled media agency RIA claimed on Friday that Ukrainian government forces had launched three shelling strikes against Russian-backed rebels.
CNBC couldn't verify either report. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported almost 600 cease-fire violations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, much higher than the previous period.
Russia could use false claims about the conflict in eastern Ukraine as a pretext for an invasion, according to the U.S.
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Russian state media reported Friday that Russia will conduct military exercises on Saturday. In recent weeks, it began engaging in large-scale military drills in Russia and Belarus, which are both near the border with Ukraine.
Moscow claimed this week that some of its soldiers had begun to leave their temporary posts at the border with Ukraine after completing their exercises.
The U.S. estimates there are now up to 90,000 more Russian troops in the area than there were at the end of January.
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This is a moment of peril for the lives and safety of millions of people, warned the U.S. Secretary of State.
He said that the U.S. information indicated that Russian forces were preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days.
He said that a staged military strike against civilians could be one of the methods the Kremlin uses to achieve.
If Russia launched an invasion, its tanks and soldiers would likely advance on key targets, including the Ukrainian capital, which has a population of over 2 million people.
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The U.S. estimated that Russia had between 169,000 to 190,000 military personnel near Ukraine, up from 100,000 on January 30.
We are aware that Russia is intent on creating a pretext to justify an invasion into Ukraine.
We have reports from multiple sources that detail Russia's attempts to fabricateUkrainian provocations and shape a public narrative that would justify a Russian invasion.
He said that the U.S. had obtained information that suggests Moscow is planning to stage an attack against Ukrainian forces in order to justify military action against Ukraine.
There is a person named Chloe Taylor.
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