Russia-Ukraine Standoff: Biden agrees to meet with Putin “in principle”
US President Joe Biden has agreed “in principle” to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as long as Russia does not further invade Ukraine, according to the White House. The potential meeting was brokered by French President Emmanuel Macron amid renewed US warnings that war is imminent.
Here are some of the latest headlines to bring you up to speed:
A White House official says Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will discuss a possible summit between Biden and Putin when they meet on Feb. 24 — but only “if the invasion hasn’t started by then — in which case it’s all off.”
Macron spoke with Putin in two calls on Sunday. He also spoke with Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in separate calls, in a “last-ditch effort to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the Élysée Palace said.
The US has intelligence indicating orders have been sent to Russian commanders to proceed with an attack on Ukraine, according to two US officials and another source familiar with the US intelligence.
It comes as new Maxar satellite imagery shows intensified activity among Russian units close to Ukraine’s northeastern border, with units that were in garrisons appearing to take up field positions.
And according to the latest US intelligence assessment, Russia now has close to 75% of its conventional forces postured against Ukraine, a US official with direct knowledge of the intelligence told CNN.
The Ukrainian Joint Forces Command on Sunday claimed Russian-backed separatists launched “heavy armament fire” against their own territory in an effort to “falsely accuse the armed forces of Ukraine and further escalate the situation.”
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov on Sunday told CBS “Face the Nation” that, “There is no invasion and there is no such plan.”
(CNN)