An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said negotiations were well under way for Ukraine to secure its next tranche of IMF credits in September.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, speaking after a virtual meeting of bloc foreign ministers, sounded more alarms, and said the Russian troop presence had grown to 150,000 along Ukraine's eastern frontier. Calling it the biggest military buildup ever near Ukraine's borders, he added “a spark” was all that was needed to set off a major war. 

EU member state Czech Republic and Russia are at the heart of the latest intrigue. Prague on Saturday ordered 14 Russian diplomats to get out within 48 hours, saying Moscow was involved in a 2014 ammunition depot explosion in the country, which, if true, would be an extraordinary ante-up.