We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow morning, you can keep up with all our ongoing Ukraine coverage here.
Here are some more details from our news desk on Putin's remarks to Russian state TV today:
Russian President Vladimir Putin says a war with Ukraine is "unlikely" and he hopes "it will never happen."
Putin, in an interview with Russian state television broadcast on February 23, called such a war "an apocalyptic scenario."
Ukraine, the United States, NATO, and many EU governments have long said that Russia has provided arms, military hardware, and troops to pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine.
Putin again rejected those charges, and said it was bad for Kyiv to blame Russia for Ukrainian forces' defeat in the town of Debaltseve.
Putin added that he thinks he "understands" and "generally trusts" German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.
He said he maintains contact with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and believes that the Minsk cease-fire agreement will be adhered to and that the situation in eastern Ukraine "will gradually return to normal."
(With reporting by Reuters and Interfax)
!!! BREAKING !!!
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that war with neighboring Ukraine is "unlikely" and he hopes it will never happen. Putin also said he sees no need for another meeting with the leaders of France, Germany, and Ukraine about the crisis in eastern Ukraine. (Reuters/Russian state TV)