US President Joe Biden has ordered the full-time deployment of US troops to Somalia, claiming to offer help to the African country in its fight against the al-Shabaab Takfiri militant group.

Western leaders have stepped up pressure on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine, agreeing to increase military aid to Kiev and tighten their sanctions on Moscow.

The US says NATO is looking at more permanent troop deployments in the Baltic region in Russia’s backyard.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called off a planned meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in a move that will further escalate the rising tensions over Ukraine and make an immediate diplomatic solution to the crisis become less likely.

Russia has urged the United States to stop escalating tensions over Ukraine after Washington announced it will be deploying several thousand troops to Eastern Europe.

Russia has slammed the increasing military buildup by the United States in Eastern Europe and near Russian borders as "destructive" and said it will diminish the likelihood of finding a political solution to the current standoff over Ukraine.

The administration of President Joe Biden is no longer using the word “imminent” to describe a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, backing away from an assessment US officials had repeatedly voiced in recent days.