In a last-ditch shuttle diplomatic bid, German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz visits Kyiv on Monday Feb. 12, and Moscow on Tuesday. His talks with Vladimir Putin will be followed by another meeting in Kyiv with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. The odds on the Scholtz mission’s success are low after a US attempt at diplomacy ran aground. Moscow stands by its demands of Sept. 17 for US security guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO and the western alliance will halt its expansion into eastern Europe.

The faint ray of hope appearing on Saturday when the Ukraine ambassador to the UK Vadim Prystaiko told the BBC that his government was willing to be flexible over joining NATO was angrily and swiftly refuted by President Zelensky.