Hours before the meeting, Joe Biden claimed that he will impose economic sanctions on Russia for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
In the event that Putin invades Ukraine and attempts to invade it, the Biden administration has not ruled out the possibility of sending more US troops to Eastern Europe.
If he makes such a move, Biden would threaten him with severe economic sanctions.
Putin has made preparations to invade Ukraine but it’s unclear he’s made the final decision to do so, a senior administration official said on Monday.
If Moscow launched an attack, the official said that they were ready to provide a “combination support for Ukraine’s military, strong countermeasures, as well as substantial increases in the support and capability of our NATO allies”.
Before Biden called Putin on Tuesday, the official gave a briefing to reporters about the current situation in Ukraine.
Taking a tough tone ahead of the conversation between the two leaders, the official noted that the U.S. and Europeans are prepared to place ‘substantial economic’ sanctions on Russia should Putin invade the Ukraine – a message President Biden will send during the virtual talk with his Russian counterpart.
Although the official didn’t say whether the United States would send troops to Ukraine in order to assist President Volodymyrzelsky, he did state that the US would provide reassurance for NATO allies in case of invasion.
“To make it clear, we don’t know if Putin has taken a decision to escalate military tensions in Ukraine. We do know, however that Putin is making preparations to allow for such an escalation if he chooses to. This Russian strategy was used in the 2014 invasion of Ukraine.
“We’ve seen additional forces and capabilities moving to Ukraine from multiple areas. These movements correspond with plans that are underway to escalate military operations in Ukraine.
An official said that Russia still has the option of choosing a “different course” and that the Biden administration was encouraging Moscow to “return on dialogue via diplomatic avenues.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated Monday that Ukraine will likely be the dominant topic for Biden and Putin’s discussions.
She stated that despite the fact that it was a chance to talk about a variety of issues in the US-Russia relationship, including cyber security and regional issues and strategic stability, you can expect the US’ concerns regarding the military activities at the border to be an important part of the conversation during her Tuesday press conference.
A senior official in the administration said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made plans to invade Ukraine, but it is not clear if he has taken this final step.
She stated that ‘I believe our goal from the start of the presidency has not been escalated relations but to get to a better foundation in them,’
However, she said that the President isn’t going to be slow in expressing his concern.
In addition, she indicated that the US would respond militarily if Russia invades the country, drawing attention to the Russian invasion in the Crimea in 2014.
‘If you take a look at 2014, it is clear that one of these outcomes was that the countries on the eastern flank of NATO will, if they are to make a decision to proceed, seek out reassurances from the United States. It was something I thought of as a continuation to 2014. Russia doesn’t want that, I think. She said that this would also be the natural result if Russia were to continue moving forward.
Psaki refuted questions regarding whether Biden’s diplomatic talks with Putin would be successful in stopping an invasion. It was an approach that failed to work when Russia took control of the Crimea in 2014.
“We will wait to see if they’re there, but our goal first and foremost is stop military progress like we saw in 2014,” she stated.
The upcoming conference call will not be fraught with threats she stated. “It’s all about communicating the correct path forward, and that is done through diplomacy.
Right, Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Ukrainian President) awards a soldier who has been in a trench during his visit to the Donetsk, war-torn region of eastern Ukraine, Monday
The handout satellite photo taken by Maxar Technologies on November 1, 2021, shows the large presence of ground forces deployed on the northern border of Yelnya in Smolensk Oblast. Russia
U.S. intelligence personnel have discovered that Russia has deployed about 70,000 troops to the border of Ukraine. The action has been compared with Moscow’s 2014 annexation the Crimean Peninsula.
Ahead of Biden and Putin’s conversation, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will speak with Zelensky and Biden will call the Ukrainian president in the days following his conversation with Putin, the official said.
Zelensky stated that he and Blinken had agreed to carry on ‘joint, concerted action’.
‘Agreed to continue joint & concerted action. Grateful to U.S. strategic partners & allies for the continued support of our sovereignty & territorial integrity. Zelensky tweeted, “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
According to the official, the U.S. would also support its NATO allies within the region. Zelensky tried to make Ukraine a full member of NATO, but it has yet to happen.
Additionally, the State Department stated that any Russian aggression toward Ukraine would be countered.
Ned Price, a spokesperson, stated that Russia could move ahead with its plans to continue military aggression against Ukraine or invade its territory militarily to inflict its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. We would all be ready to take action if Russia does so.
“There should not be any doubt about our desire to do that.” He said that they had made it clear, in public as well as private at every opportunity.
An official suggested that the U.S. might deploy to Eastern Europe in case Russia invades. He said there would be a positive reaction from the United States to have additional capabilities, forces, and exercises put in place in order to protect our allies on our east flank in the event of such aggression in Ukraine.
The official stated that he believed it was possible to anticipate the fact that, in the case of invasion, there would be a need to increase the confidence and reassurance among NATO allies as well as our Eastern flank allies. This would make the United States prepared to offer that type of reassurance.
Biden on Monday spoke to the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, to discuss what punishment Russia would face.
According to reports, the pair concluded that Russia would face sanctions rather than taking military action.
Johnson agreed with Biden and other world leaders to present a ‘united front’ against Russian threats towards Ukraine.
Johnson also met with Mario Draghi of Italy, the French President Emmanuel Macron, and Angela Merkel from Germany on Monday.
Spokesman for Downing Street said that leaders had agreed that meetings at the G20 as well as of Nato’s foreign ministers have been valuable forums for discussion on this matter. The leaders stressed the importance of forming a cohesive front against Russian hostility and threats.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen in public on Thursday. With their invite for Ukraine to NATO, Putin long accuses the West.
“The leaders urged Russia to calm tensions and reinforced their commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The Prime Minister reiterated points made earlier this year to President Putin, as well as those made by the Foreign Secretary to her Russian counterpart last Wednesday. According to the Prime Minister, the UK will continue to employ all diplomatic and economic tools available to stop any Russian aggression towards Ukraine.
After President Biden’s meeting with President Putin, the leaders decided to meet again.
Their diplomacy comes after a report on Friday suggested that Russia is planning a possible military offensive against Ukraine involving an estimated 175,000 troops that could begin as soon as early 2022.
The Washington Post was able to obtain unclassified intelligence that included satellite images of troops and equipment at the Ukrainian border.
Photos from June were taken around Yelnya near the north border between Russia and Ukraine. The photos revealed that five Battalion Tactical Groups, (BTGs), were already in place by November 9.
Similar scenes took place near the Russian-Ukrainian border in Crimea, 2014. This was before Russia seize the Black Sea strategic port.
An administration official said that the Russian plans called for a military attack against Ukraine by early 2022. This would include a force size twice as large as what was seen in Russia’s spring exercise at Ukraine’s border.
Maxar Technologies published a satellite photo on November 1 showing soldiers en masse near Yelnya. Washington warns Putin as he masses his forces near Ukrainian territory. These satellite images, taken within the last few weeks, show large concentrations of tanks and artillery in the region.
Ukraine has warned that Russian troops are near it border. The country is currently fighting a decade-long rebellion in eastern Ukraine by Russian-backed separatists.
“The plan calls for the movement of large numbers of tactical 100-battalion battalion groups, with approximately 175,000 personnel. This includes armor and artillery.
Ukrainian assessment have indicated that Russia holds approximately 94,000 troops close to the border. However, the U.S. thinks the number is closer to 70,000.
Officials in the US expect a 175,000 increase, but warn there will be substantial movement of battalion tactical units to and from border to ‘obfuscate intentions’ and create uncertainty.
The document states that equipment may be left at other training levels to allow for a quick, final buildup.
Biden left the White House in preparation for Camp David and stated that they had been aware of Russia’s actions since a while. He said, “We have an expectation that we will have a long conversation.”
Russian state media published footage on Friday of military drills and sniper training that took place at the Ukrainian frontier.
Russian soldiers were pictured performing sniper drills, which are believed to have 700 gunmen. Servicemen lie on the ground under snowy conditions.
Russian military personnel were caught training using rocket-propelled, grenade-launchers during tensions due to the increase in more than 94,000 troops at Ukraine’s border.
Asking him if Putin’s redline – Ukraine should not be a NATO member – he replied, “I will’t accept anyone’s redline.”
Putin stated this week that Russia requires ‘precise legal and judicial guarantees’ because Western counterparts have not fulfilled verbal promises they made.
He stated that a formal agreement was necessary to ‘block any further expansion of NATO to the east and to prevent deployments of weapons systems in close proximity of Russia’s territories.
The Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Sergei Lavrov met on Thursday.
Moscow was warned by Blinken about the “severe” costs Russia will incur if it invades Ukraine. He urged his Russian counterpart to exit the crisis on Thursday.
Anthony Blinken is seen with Sergei Lavrov in Stockholm, Thursday, as the U.S. Secretary-of-State.
Russian troops can be seen conducting drills in Crimea on 18 October. The U.S. believes there is troop buildup in Crimea. It was seized by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. A BTR-82A armored personnel car lands on a large land ship in an amphibious landing exercise. It was landed from an improved shore that is held by the Opuk Range’s army corps and naval infantry unit. The drill saw the participation of over 8,000 military personnel and 350 pieces of weaponry and hardware.
Blinken warned the Russian Foreign Minister during a meeting in Stockholm he called “candid”. He stated that Biden was most likely to speak shortly with Vladimir Putin.
After the meeting, Blinken stated that he had made clear his deep concern and determination to hold Russia accountable for its actions. He also pledged to collaborate with European allies in imposing severe consequences and costs on Russia if it continues aggressively against Ukraine.
“It is now up to Russia to reverse the recent troop buildup and return forces to normal peacetime posts, and to refrain from intimidation or attempts to destabilize Ukraine.”
Lavrov said to reporters that Moscow was open for dialogue with Kyiv when he spoke with Blinken.
He said, “We, as President Putin stated, don’t want any conflicts.”
Blinken, before the meeting, stated: ‘We don’t know whether President Putin has made the decision to invade.
“We are aware that he’s putting together the capability to do this in a short time should he choose.”
“We should be prepared for any contingencies.”
A Biden administration official spoke with Associated Press to confirm that the intelligence report, which was released on Friday, estimated that roughly half of Russian personnel were already stationed near Ukraine’s frontier.
Russian and Belarusian soldiers take part in Zapad-2021, a military exercise that took place in Brest in Belarus on September 14.
On November 30, a joint Russian-Belarus tactical force of Su-30SM fighters patrolled the Belarussian border with NATO nations.
Caesar Kunikov and the Novorossiysk large landing vessels take part in an amphibious landing exercise on a unimproved beach in Crimea, October
The Crimea Exercises in October saw the Saratov large land ship and Mil Mi-8AMTSh helicopters.
A Crimean air assault team lands at an exercise for amphibious landings in October in Crimea
Russia is imposing its demands upon Biden in order to ensure that Ukraine cannot join NATO.
According to an official, intelligence officials have noticed an increase in Russian media outlets and proxies used by Russian information operations ahead of possible invasions.
Biden earlier on Friday pledged to make it “very difficult” for Putin, to engage in military action against Ukraine.
His administration will be launching new initiatives to counter Russian aggression, he stated.
Biden stated that he was putting together the best set of meaningful initiatives possible to make it difficult for Putin to do what is being feared by his people.
On Friday, the Kremlin stated that Putin will seek to obtain binding guarantees preventing NATO from expanding into Ukraine in the meeting with Biden.
Ukrainian Defense Minister warned Russia that Russia may invade next month.
On Friday, Oleksii Reznikov, the Ukrainian Defense Minister, told Congress that Russia has 94,300 troops in Ukraine. He also warned that there could be a large-scale escalation in January.
An official from Ukraine told The Post that earlier military exercises were intended to prepare for an invasion.
“Russian troops solved the problems of setting up strike groups close to the border of our state and mobilization steps, as well logistical support for groups. [and]The official stated that significant military contingents were transferred from Russia, even by air, to Ukraine at the border.
Since Biden’s election, relations between Russia and the United States have been turbulent.
Apart from the Ukraine matter, the Biden administration has imposed sanctions against Russian targets. It also called out President Vladimir Putin over Kremlin interference with U.S. Elections, cyberactivity targeting U.S. Businesses, and how Alexei Navalny was treated. He was later poisoned, then imprisoned.
The Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Ryzkov stated to lawmakers that information from his border showed ‘the potential of a large-scale Russian escalation’
On Friday, President Joe Biden was seen in Stockholm. The U.S. Secretary Of State stated that Vladimir Putin will be speaking to him soon.
In June, Putin and Biden met in Geneva. The U.S. president warned that if Russia crosses certain red lines (including going after American infrastructure), his administration would react and “the consequences would be catastrophic.”
A person close to Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Biden and the Ukrainian President have tentatively agreed on a conference call for next week.
Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, stated that administration officials are open to the idea of biden-Putin calls.
Psaki spoke out about a possible Biden/Putin call, saying, “It certainly would offer an opportunity to discuss our serious concern about the bellicose speech, about the military buildup, that we’re witnessing on the border with Ukraine.”
Biden didn’t give details about the actions that he was considering.
Lavrov, however, has threatened additional sanctions as a response to any U.S. actions.
Lavrov stated that if the new “sanctions of hell” come, they will be responded to.
“We won’t be able to ignore our customers.”
Psaki stated Friday that the administration will coordinate with European allies in case it moves forward with sanctions.
As the White House contemplates how to move forward, she noted the bitter memories from Russia’s 2014 annexe of Crimea. This was the Black Sea Peninsula that Ukraine had held since 1954.
Psaki stated that he knew what Vladimir Putin had done in the past.
“We are able to see that he’s putting together the capability to quickly take action.”
Deep divisions were evident during the Blinken–Lavrov Meeting, when the Russia official charged the West with ‘playing in fire’ by not allowing Russia to have a voice in NATO expansion into former Soviet Union countries.
Zelenskyy pushed Ukraine to join the alliance. However, the promises of membership have not been fulfilled and a timetable has yet to be established.
Blinken stated this week that the U.S. made it clear to Russia that it would respond decisively, with high-impact economic measures and other methods that were not used in the past.
Although he did not specify what sanctions were under consideration, a possible option could include removing Russia from SWIFT’s international payment system.
In April, the Parliament of the European Union approved a resolution that was non-binding to exclude Russia from SWIFT in case its troops enter Ukraine.
Such an action would effectively block Russian business from global financial markets.
According to Western allies, such an action was considered by them in 2014 and 2015. This occurred during previous Russian-led tensions over Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev (then-Russian prime minister) said that such a move would be like a declaration war.