US warns more than 130,000 Russian troops amassed outside Ukraine

German chancellor Olaf Scholz will fly to Kyiv on Monday to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky before heading to Moscow on Tuesday to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Some airlines have cancelled flights to the Ukrainian capital as the country’s president sought to project confidence in the face of US warnings of a possible invasion within days by a Russian force said to have swelled to more than 130,000 troops.

President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to US leader Joe Biden for about an hour on Sunday, insisting that Ukrainians have the country under “safe and reliable protection” against a feared attack by a far stronger Russian military.