Mr.

Zelensky made an emotional appeal to the West, saying that sanctions against Russia should begin immediately and that there was no point in daily declarations that attacks are
imminent, as they are destroying the economy. He added that no deal should be struck with Russia that does not include his nation.

“It’s important for all our partners and friends to not agree about anything behind our back,” he said. “We’re not panicking. We’re very consistent that we are not responding to any
provocations.”

Western leaders there displayed a united front and issued repeated calls for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. Vice President Kamala Harris called the crisis “a defining moment” for
European security and the defense of democratic values.

But Mr. Putin sent his own message, presiding over tests of nuclear-capable missiles.

Tensions between the United States and Russia have not been this high since the Cold War, and Russia’s nuclear drills on Saturday appeared carefully timed to deter the West from
direct military involvement in Ukraine. In Munich, Ms. Harris warned that if Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States and its allies would target not only financial institutions and
technology exports to Russia, but also “those who are complicit and those who aid and direct this unprovoked invasion.”

“Russia continues to claim it is ready for talks, while at the same time it narrows the avenues for diplomacy,” she said. “Their actions simply do not match their words.”

In Ukraine, shelling escalated in the east, where Russian-backed separatists have battled government forces in the last few days.

Artillery fire picked up along the entire length of the frontline, the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior Affairs said on Saturday. The shelling was roughly double the level of the previous two
days, the ministry said.

Several intense artillery barrages targeted a pocket of government-controlled territory around the town of Svitlodarsk, a spot that has worried security analysts for weeks for its
proximity to dangerous industrial infrastructure, including storage tanks for poisonous gas.

“I have a small baby,” said Nadya Lapygina, a resident of Staryi Aidar, one of several dozen towns hit by artillery and mortar fire on the northern border of the breakaway separatist
region of Luhansk. “You have no idea how scary it is to hide him from the shelling.”

There were also alarming signs of what American officials described as possible precursors to a pretext for a Russian invasion. Leaders of Russia-backed separatists in eastern
Ukraine issued a call on Saturday for all men in the territory they control to register to fight.

— Steven Erlanger and Andrew E. Kramer

Zelensky criticizes the allied response to Russia’s buildup.