Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden is to hold a high-stakes telephone call on Saturday as tensions over the prospect of an imminent invasion of Ukraine quickly escalated and the US announced plans to evacuate its embassy in the Ukrainian capital.
Before talking to Biden, Putin is to take a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with him in Moscow earlier in the week to try to resolve the crisis.
Russia Ukraine has mobilized troops near the border and sent troops for drills in neighboring Belarus, but insists it intends to launch an offensive against Ukraine.
Adding to the sense of crisis, the Pentagon ordered an additional 3,000 US troops to Poland to reassure the Allies.
Biden has said that the US military will not enter the war in Ukraine, but has promised severe economic sanctions against Moscow in cooperation with international allies.
The timing of any possible Russian military action remains an important question.
The US received intelligence that Russia is viewing Wednesday as a target date, according to a US official familiar with the findings. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and did so only on condition of anonymity, would not say how certain the intelligence was, and the White House publicly underlined that the US does not know for sure. whether Putin is committed to the attack.
However, US officials have renewed that the build-up of Russia’s aggressive air, land and sea firepower near Ukraine has reached the point where it can strike at short notice.
US officials told The Associated Press that the State Department plans to announce on Saturday that nearly all US staff at the Kiev embassy will have to leave. The State Department would not comment.
The department had earlier ordered the departure of the families of US embassy staff in Kiev. But it was left to the discretion of non-essential personnel if they wanted to depart.
Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake sullivanUrged all Americans in Ukraine to leave, stressing that they should not expect the US military to rescue them if air and rail transport is sabotaged after the Russian invasion.
Many NATO allies, including Britain, Canada, Norway and Denmark, are also asking their citizens to leave Ukraine, as is non-NATO ally New Zealand.
Sullivan said Russian military action could begin with missiles and air strikes, followed by ground attacks.
“Yes, this is an urgent message because we are in an urgent situation,” he told reporters at the White House.
“Russia has all the forces necessary to take a major military action,” Sullivan said, adding that Russia could, in very short order, choose to launch a major military action against Ukraine. He said the scale of such an attack could range from limited infiltration to an attack on the capital, Kiev.
Russia ridiculed America’s urgency.
“The White House frenzy is more symbolic than ever,” a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said. Maria Zakharova, “The Anglo-Saxons need war. At any cost. Provocation, misinformation and threats are the preferred way of solving their problems.”
In addition to more than 100,000 ground troops, US officials say Russia has gathered along Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders, the Russians have deployed missile, air, naval and special operations forces, as well as to keep the war going. also supplied. Russia this week moved six amphibious assault ships to the Black Sea, boosting its ability to land marines on the coast.
Sullivan’s dire warning hastened the projected deadline for a possible invasion, which many analysts believed was unlikely until the Winter Olympics in China ended on February 20. Sullivan said a combination of Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s borders and unspecified intelligence indicators prompted that. The administration has warned that the war could start at any time.
“We can’t pinpoint the day at this point, and we can’t pinpoint the hour, but that’s a very different possibility,” Sullivan said.
Biden has said that US troops will not enter Ukraine to counter any Russian aggression, but he has strengthened US military presence in Europe as a reassurance for allies in NATO’s eastern side. On Friday, the Pentagon said Biden ordered 3,000 more troops to Poland, on top of the 1,700 that are moving there.
The US military is also moving 1,000 troops from Germany to Romania, which, like Poland, shares a border with Ukraine.
Biden spoke to several European leaders on Friday and outlined concerns raised by US intelligence about a possible imminent Russian offensive. Sullivan said Western leaders are fully united and will respond strongly to Russian aggression with devastating economic and trade sanctions.
Russia is demanding that the West keep Ukraine and other former Soviet countries out of NATO. It also wants NATO to refrain from deploying weapons near its border and withdraw coalition forces from Eastern Europe – demands explicitly rejected by the West.
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly leader was ousted by a popular uprising. Moscow annexed Crimea and then supported a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where more than 14,000 people died in fighting.
A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped prevent large-scale fighting, but regular skirmishes continue, and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.
Before talking to Biden, Putin is to take a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with him in Moscow earlier in the week to try to resolve the crisis.
Russia Ukraine has mobilized troops near the border and sent troops for drills in neighboring Belarus, but insists it intends to launch an offensive against Ukraine.
Adding to the sense of crisis, the Pentagon ordered an additional 3,000 US troops to Poland to reassure the Allies.
Biden has said that the US military will not enter the war in Ukraine, but has promised severe economic sanctions against Moscow in cooperation with international allies.
The timing of any possible Russian military action remains an important question.
The US received intelligence that Russia is viewing Wednesday as a target date, according to a US official familiar with the findings. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and did so only on condition of anonymity, would not say how certain the intelligence was, and the White House publicly underlined that the US does not know for sure. whether Putin is committed to the attack.
However, US officials have renewed that the build-up of Russia’s aggressive air, land and sea firepower near Ukraine has reached the point where it can strike at short notice.
US officials told The Associated Press that the State Department plans to announce on Saturday that nearly all US staff at the Kiev embassy will have to leave. The State Department would not comment.
The department had earlier ordered the departure of the families of US embassy staff in Kiev. But it was left to the discretion of non-essential personnel if they wanted to depart.
Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake sullivanUrged all Americans in Ukraine to leave, stressing that they should not expect the US military to rescue them if air and rail transport is sabotaged after the Russian invasion.
Many NATO allies, including Britain, Canada, Norway and Denmark, are also asking their citizens to leave Ukraine, as is non-NATO ally New Zealand.
Sullivan said Russian military action could begin with missiles and air strikes, followed by ground attacks.
“Yes, this is an urgent message because we are in an urgent situation,” he told reporters at the White House.
“Russia has all the forces necessary to take a major military action,” Sullivan said, adding that Russia could, in very short order, choose to launch a major military action against Ukraine. He said the scale of such an attack could range from limited infiltration to an attack on the capital, Kiev.
Russia ridiculed America’s urgency.
“The White House frenzy is more symbolic than ever,” a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said. Maria Zakharova, “The Anglo-Saxons need war. At any cost. Provocation, misinformation and threats are the preferred way of solving their problems.”
In addition to more than 100,000 ground troops, US officials say Russia has gathered along Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders, the Russians have deployed missile, air, naval and special operations forces, as well as to keep the war going. also supplied. Russia this week moved six amphibious assault ships to the Black Sea, boosting its ability to land marines on the coast.
Sullivan’s dire warning hastened the projected deadline for a possible invasion, which many analysts believed was unlikely until the Winter Olympics in China ended on February 20. Sullivan said a combination of Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s borders and unspecified intelligence indicators prompted that. The administration has warned that the war could start at any time.
“We can’t pinpoint the day at this point, and we can’t pinpoint the hour, but that’s a very different possibility,” Sullivan said.
Biden has said that US troops will not enter Ukraine to counter any Russian aggression, but he has strengthened US military presence in Europe as a reassurance for allies in NATO’s eastern side. On Friday, the Pentagon said Biden ordered 3,000 more troops to Poland, on top of the 1,700 that are moving there.
The US military is also moving 1,000 troops from Germany to Romania, which, like Poland, shares a border with Ukraine.
Biden spoke to several European leaders on Friday and outlined concerns raised by US intelligence about a possible imminent Russian offensive. Sullivan said Western leaders are fully united and will respond strongly to Russian aggression with devastating economic and trade sanctions.
Russia is demanding that the West keep Ukraine and other former Soviet countries out of NATO. It also wants NATO to refrain from deploying weapons near its border and withdraw coalition forces from Eastern Europe – demands explicitly rejected by the West.
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly leader was ousted by a popular uprising. Moscow annexed Crimea and then supported a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where more than 14,000 people died in fighting.
A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped prevent large-scale fighting, but regular skirmishes continue, and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.
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