In Kiev, a capital of a country on edge, there are fears it could be on the brink of some kind of Russian offensive as Vladimir Putin looks to roll back what he sees as Western creep into Russia’s sphere of influence.
Western intelligence agencies estimate more than 100,000 Russian troops are massed on the border with Ukraine.
Satellite images show large build-ups of military equipment on bases near the border and also in the Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.
Russian-backed separatists declared Donetsk and Luhansk an independent region that same year.
Whilst one eye is on its aggressive neighbour, the other is on Geneva, where a week of talks between US and Russian diplomats have begun in an effort to calm tensions and avoid any potential military action.
But hopes are not high, with the US secretary of state saying yesterday: “Russia has a gun to the head of Ukraine.”