United States President; Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak in a video call on Tuesday, the Kremlin said, as tensions between the United States and Russia escalate over the creation of the Russian military on the Ukrainian border that is seen as a sign of a possible invasion.
Dmitry Peskov; Kremlin spokesman confirmed the plans to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti on Saturday and said it would take place in the evening. “The president himself will decide” how long the talks will last, he said.
The White House did not immediately comment on the announcement.
The leaders have not spoken since July when Biden demanded that Putin launch ransomware attacks against the United States on Russia-based criminal hacking gangs. Biden said the US would take necessary steps to protect critical infrastructure from any such attacks.
Russia is more adamant than ever that the US guarantees that Ukraine will not be included in the NATO military alliance. But NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, made it clear last week that Russia had no role in expansion plans by other countries or the coalition. Many former US and NATO diplomats say any such Russian demand for Biden would be a non-start.
Meanwhile, US intelligence officials have determined that Russia has massed about 70,000 soldiers near its border with Ukraine and began planning a possible offensive early next year, according to a Biden administration official. According to, who was not authorized to discuss that finding publicly. and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The risk for Putin to undergo such an invasion would be enormous.
US officials and former US diplomats say that while the Russian president is laying the groundwork for a possible invasion, Ukraine’s military is better armed and prepared today than ever before, and sanctions threatened by the West have stymied the Russian economy. will suffer serious damage.
“What I’m doing is putting together what I believe will be the most comprehensive and meaningful initiative for Mr. Putin to pursue, very difficult and people are worried what he might do,” Biden said. Said on Friday.
Ukrainian officials have said Russia may launch an attack next month. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksey Reznikov said the number of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Russia-affiliated Crimea stood at 94,300, and warned that a “massive increase” was possible in January.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky recently alleged that a group of Russians and Ukrainians planned to attempt a coup in his country and that conspirators sought to enlist the help of Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.
Russia and Akhmetov have denied that there is a conspiracy, but Russia has recently become more clear in its warnings to Ukraine and the United States.
Biden is also scheduled to speak with Zelensky in the coming week, according to a person close to the Ukrainian leader. This person was not authorized to comment publicly before the call was announced and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin, during his call with Biden, would seek binding guarantees to halt NATO expansion in Ukraine. Biden tried to meet the demand in comments to reporters on Friday before leaving for a weekend stay at Camp David.
