The moves, announced after a meeting of Russia’s Security Council and a rambling, impassioned address by Putin to Russians, were not the full-fledged invasion predicted by many in the West after weeks of deployment by Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders.

The field has been developed by Azerbaijan's state energy firm SOCAR and France's TotalEnergies (formerly known as TOTAL) since 2016.

The country's partners have already pledged over $5 billion in financial aid in a move to support Ukraine's economy and reform agenda.

Some Western leaders have in the past week warned of an imminent Russian invasion, with U.S. President Joe Biden saying he was “convinced” this would occur within days and Secretary of State Antony Blinken predicting a quick advance aimed at capturing the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

The proposed summit was announced in Washington and Paris hours after the United States issued a fresh warning that Russian forces were poised for an attack on Ukraine within days.