Biden to Host Meeting With Key Allies on Friday to Discuss Ukraine

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Joe Biden will host a meeting with major allies on Friday to discuss the latest developments in the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office said in a statement.

"The Prime Minister will participate in a meeting hosted by the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and NATO, to discuss Ukraine," Trudeau's office said on Thursday.

The meeting will take place amid reports of shelling in the Donbas region.

Earlier in the day, the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics said that the Ukrainian armed forces opened fire on their positions. The Ukrainian security forces also reported a sharp increase in the number of ceasefire violations in Donbas. They further claimed that the LPR forces hit a kindergarten in a settlement on the territory controlled by Kiev, calling it a terrorist attack on Ukraine.

The United Nations Security Council convened on Thursday to address concerns in the region. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a last-minute appearance to give remarks on the matter, calling for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

The Russian side emphasized at the UN Security Council meeting that the United States and its NATO allies must address Moscow's security concerns in the region, which includes limiting the alliance's expansion to the East near Russia's borders.