US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are holding a video call tonight (Monday) amid rising tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border and Western leaders’ warnings that Moscow could face heavy sanctions if it invades a neighboring country.
According to the two bureaucracies, the first talks between the leaders since July 9 are set to address issues of Ukraine’s crisis, nuclear talks with Iran, Libya’s upcoming elections and developments in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal in late August.
The conversation comes amid record tensions around Ukraine over the concentration of Russian forces, with US intelligence sources estimating that it is preparing for a possible Russian army invasion of Ukraine early next year. Moscow has denied the allegations, but has accused the defense batteries and US troops in Eastern Europe, along with the intention to annex Ukraine to NATO and Ukraine’s continued military activity against separatists in the east of the country, endangering their interests.
Ahead of the meeting, Biden noted he would take advantage of the conversation to present “the most significant and comprehensive package of initiatives that will make it very difficult for Putin to continue to do what people fear he will do.” The Kremlin, on the other hand, said that “there is no need to expect breakthroughs from this conversation. This is a job call in a very complex period.”
Last night it was reported that the leaders of the US, UK, Germany, France and Italy had formulated a joint strategy designed to “force significant and severe pain from the Russian economy” if the invasion did take place and called on Moscow to calm tensions and avoid undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Dr. Lane, said at noon that there would be “exacerbation and extension of existing sanctions” if Russia carries out “further aggression, including violations of international law and any malicious actions against us or our neighbors, including Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zlansky yesterday praised the local army and said it was “a highly organized and highly capable force with confidence in its potential capable of disrupting any expansionist plans on the part of the enemy”. “Ukrainian troops continue to demonstrate their most important mission – to protect freedom and sovereignty from Russian aggressors,” he said during a visit to the Eastern Front of the Fighting Front.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has warned that a Russian invasion would be devastating for the entire continent of Europe and called on the US president to take a firm stand against Putin. In a conversation with CNN, he warned that if the Russians invade, some four to five million Ukrainians could seek refuge in EU countries and that there could also be a significant disruption in food supplies to Europe and Africa.
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