Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv saw the U.S. response before it was delivered on Wednesday to Russia, and had no objections. A top Putin associate, former President and ex-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, says a war would be catastrophic and that he hopes that Ukraine will choose leaders who want “normal” ties with Russia. Macron is preparing to talk Friday with Putin, and Macron’s presidential palace hosted marathon talks Wednesday between Russian and Ukrainian advisers, the first such face-to-face negotiations since Russia massed troops near Ukraine in recent weeks.