Amid Russia-Ukraine crisis Biden to call Putin
As per credible intelligence report claims, Russia is planning to invade Ukraine on February 16. The US President Joe Biden has urgently arranged a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday in a bid to prevent war.
The plans were passed on to Biden’s government and discussed in a series of secret briefings with NATO allies. They are said to contain specific routes that might be taken by individual Russian units and detail what roles they might play in the conflict.
Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders. It denies planning an invasion but says it is ready to take unspecified “military-technical measures” if demands are not met, including a promise by NATO never to admit Ukraine and to withdraw some troops from Eastern Europe.
According to German newspaper Der Spiegel, the US Secret Service, CIA, and the Pentagon are said to have received intel of an “exceptionally detailed” invasion plan, scheduled for February 16.
Der Speigel suggests the US is mulling whether to make the plans public in a bid to undermine them. The White House confirmed that Biden and Putin would discuss the crisis by phone today – just hours after thousands of Britons and Americans were warned to get out of Ukraine while they still can, as tensions reached boiling point.
The warning came amid fears that Putin could launch an “aerial bombardment” of Kiev, risking a high civilian death toll.
Several other countries have now told their citizens to get out of the country, including Belgium, who on Saturday warned there would be “no guarantee of evacuation” following a “sudden deterioration“, as “communication links including internet and telephone lines could be seriously affected” and air travel hampered.
Earlier in February, French President Emmanuel Macron, the top Western leader visited Moscow amid Russia massing troops on the border with Ukraine.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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[…] 16 has come and gone, and Russia has not invaded Ukraine, despite warnings from U.S. intelligence sources and officials that a Russian military action could take place on […]
[…] 16 has come and gone, and Russia has not invaded Ukraine, despite warnings from U.S. intelligence sources and officials that a Russian military action could take place on […]