Russia-Ukraine live updates: West braces for false-flag operations by Kremlin as fighting with pro-Russian militants escalates.

Germany and France on Saturday urged their nationals to immediately leave Ukraine as tensions with Russia and shelling in Ukraine’s east increased.

“German nationals are urged to leave the country now,” Germany’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “A military confrontation is possible at any time.”

The statement warned that support for German nationals in Ukraine would be limited if Russia invades.

The French Foreign Ministry called on French nationals in Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk — areas in eastern Ukraine, where shelling by Russia-backed separatists has intensified in recent days — to leave quickly. It recommended that people exercise increased vigilance and refrain from traveling to the north or east of the country, and that French citizens who do not have a “compelling motive” to remain in Ukraine depart the country.

France’s ambassador to Ukraine, Etienne de Poncins, last week urged French citizens in Ukraine to prepare a supply of water, food, warm clothing and fuel but said France was not “at this stage” asking all French residents of Ukraine to leave the country.

The United States, Britain and other countries have already urged their citizens to leave Ukraine.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, condemned “the use of heavy weaponry and indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas” in the contested east, they said in a statement Friday, calling the activity a “clear violation of the Minsk agreements.”

NOVOLUHANSKE, Ukraine — Outside the border city of Novoluhanske, Ukrainian army Brigade Commander Olexandr Zinevitch showed journalists where separatist forces have been pounding an abandoned industrial area with artillery in recent days.

Earlier Saturday, a 27-year-old Ukrainian private had been sprinting to shelter across the asphalt when he was knocked from his feet by a shell. “He’s going to lose his hand,” Zinevitch said, flipping through photographs of the injury on his phone.

A civilian fisherman had been shot in the morning, Zinevitch said, but not seriously injured.

This area has not been a hot spot in the last several years, with almost no shelling. Zinevitch sees the eruption of attacks over the last three days — including artillery, mortars and grenades — as evidence of a coordinated campaign by Russia.

Moscow is trying to provoke Ukrainian forces into responding and giving Russia an excuse to launch a major attack, he said. He has told his troops not to respond unless their lives are in danger.

“The Russian Federation is trying to lead us into war with a lie,” Zinevitch said.

A few minutes later, as the group of journalists and the soldiers escorting them were pulling away in military vehicles, an artillery shell slammed into the ground 200 yards away.

The leading vehicles raced from the spot as more shells sounded to the east. A man who had been tinkering with his pickup truck speeded toward the village.

At the entrance to a military blast shelter near an apartment building, soldiers rushed journalists and two residents into the darkness.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday called for the implementation of a 2015 peace accord between Russia and Ukraine known as the Minsk agreement, describing it as the “only way out” of the crisis.

Wang, who was addressing the Munich Security Conference by video link, did not comment on Russia’s military buildup but said Russia’s concerns “should be respected and heeded,” according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Without naming the United States, Wang criticized countries warning of an imminent invasion. Describing “certain major countries” as reviving a Cold War mentality, he called on governments to stop “hyping up issues, creating panic and trumpeting the threat of war.”

An invasion would test Beijing’s commitment to its burgeoning quasi-alliance with Moscow. Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted President Vladimir Putin before the opening of the Winter Olympics this month and pledged to deepen a strategic partnership of “no limits.”

Beijing has repeatedly called Russia’s security concerns “legitimate,” and a Russian invasion of Ukraine could bolster its own ambitions toward Taiwan. Yet an invasion of Ukraine could also complicate Beijing’s international standing in a year in which Xi is poised to take on a controversial and unprecedented third term.

Speaking by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, Xi called for “political settlement … through dialogue and consultation,” according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday that Ukraine was committing “crimes against humanity” in separatist regions of the country’s east, fueling Western officials’ alarm that Russia is manufacturing a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine.

Her comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Tuesday that Ukraine was committing “genocide” in the regions, without offering evidence or explanation. Fears about a staged pretext were compounded by orders given by separatist leaders on Friday for a mass evacuation of the population in a Moscow-backed breakaway region. The separatist administrations have since aired allegations of “terrorist” attacks and sabotage, without evidence. Ukraine officials have denied the claims.

Zakharova said the West was ignoring the human rights of residents in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, saying they would “become accomplices” in “crimes against humanity.” She did not provide details of the alleged crimes.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russian claims of genocide in Donbas region were “ridiculous.” Russia’s Foreign Ministry called his comments “unacceptable.”

Evangelist Franklin Graham has asked Americans to “pray for” Vladimir Putin shortly after President Biden indicated that the Russian president has “made the decision” to strike Ukraine.

Graham, the son of evangelical icon Billy Graham and a staunch supporter of former president Donald Trump, wrote on Facebook:

“Pray for President Putin. This may sound like a strange request, and I might get some angry comments, but we need to pray that God would work in his heart so that war—and the loss of thousands of lives—could be avoided at all cost.”

He added, “May God give wisdom to the leaders involved in these talks and negotiations, as well as those advising them. Our prayers might make the difference between life and death.”

Graham was among the evangelical leaders who had previously cultivated ties with Russia before the 2016 U.S. presidential election. During a 2015 speaking tour in Russia, Graham met privately with Putin for 45 minutes. Graham told The Washington Post in 2017 that Putin “answers questions very directly and doesn’t dodge them like a lot of our politicians do.” He also tweeted out a photo of him shaking hands with Putin.

In 1982, Graham’s father famously went to the Soviet Union on a missionary trip during the Cold War. Having met with Soviet officials, Billy Graham was criticized for the trip and accused of going soft of communism.

While Franklin Graham’s supporters backed his call to “pray for President Putin,” critics slammed him for not doing the same for the people of Ukraine ahead of a potential invasion that is likely to bring bloodshed to the country. Jon Cooper, a Democrat and majority leader of the Suffolk County legislature on Long Island, offered one word in response to Graham asking for prayers for Putin: “Unreal.”

LVIV, Ukraine — There are winding cobblestone streets and delicious pastries. The old Habsburg elegance still runs through Lviv.

Lviv is also about as far from Russia as you can get in Ukraine. These days, that makes it a preferred place for some to set up shop amid growing fears that Russia could attack — and possibly put the capital, Kyiv, in its crosshairs.

At least five embassies, including that of the United States, have moved a part of their operations to Lviv, about 350 miles west of Kyiv and within a short drive to the Polish border.

MUNICH — President Biden said Friday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had “made the decision” to strike Ukraine — an assessment that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday that he agreed with.

However, high-level European officials said Saturday that they had not been given any direct intelligence or evidence of Putin having made up his mind to attack. “Let me say clearly that at this stage, we do not have such clear intelligence,” one European official told The Washington Post, adding that “it is also clear that the situation is very serious.”

Another European official said, “We have no clear evidence ourselves that Putin has made up his mind, and we have not seen anything that would suggest otherwise,” adding that they believed such strong statements could be part of a U.S. tactic to increase pressure on Russia.

Meanwhile, a German security official said they had seen an increase in Russian cyberattacks and attempts to spread false information in recent weeks.

All three officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

MUNICH, Germany — When Vice President Harris met with the heads of Baltic nations here on Friday, she made a vow that was equal parts American might and personal promise.

“We stand with you — I am here personally to say that,” she told the presidents of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, who had just recounted how the Russian threat triggered traumatic memories of Soviet occupation. “We stand with you on this and many other issues, in the spirit of our alliance and our mutual interest and priorities.”

Nearby, at Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Secretary of State Antony Blinken found it hard to navigate the narrow corridors as foreign ministers, prime ministers and other longtime acquaintances intercepted his path with handshakes, hugs or an oft-repeated “Hey, Tony!”

The split screen brought into sharp relief the complex dynamic at the conference as Harris, the senior official and head of the U.S. delegation, shares a double-billing with Blinken, who has known many of the foreign officials here for decades.

The White House says their roles are complementary, that Harris is in Munich to provide leadership and inspiration while Blinken handles the private talks and diplomatic minutiae. But some U.S. diplomats say it’s not that simple.