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President Joe Biden said Russia would make it “very, very difficult” to attack Ukraine.
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US intelligence warned that Russia plans to attack as many as 175,000 troops next year. Washington post report.
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Meanwhile, Russia is demanding that Ukraine not join NATO.
President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to take military action against Ukraine on Friday after warning US intelligence about plans to launch an attack as early as 2022.
Biden told reporters on Friday outside Camp David, Maryland. Associated Press..
A Biden administration official told The Associated Press that US intelligence had decided that Russia would deploy 175,000 troops in Ukraine, about half of which were already stationed near the Ukrainian border.
“I believe that what I’m doing will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make Mr Putin very difficult to go ahead and do what people are worried about. It’s about summarizing what we’re doing, “Biden said on Friday.
according to Washington postThe Kremlin, which first reported US intelligence on Friday, plans to attack as early as next year. According to the post’s report, it also requires Ukraine not to participate in NATO, and the United States to promise NATO to leave the region.
According to AP, “I don’t accept anyone’s red line,” Biden said.
According to the unclassified documents that Post saw, Russian troops are currently stationed in four locations, with 50 battlefield tactical groups deployed in tanks and artillery.
“Russia’s plan calls for a military attack on Ukraine in early 2022, with an army twice as large as what we saw this spring during a rapid Russian exercise near the Ukrainian border. “A senior government official told the Washington Post. “The plan includes armor, artillery, equipment, as well as a large movement of a tactical group of 100 battalions with an estimated 175,000 personnel.”
An official in the Biden administration told the Associated Press that the United States had seen an increase in Russian propaganda by agents and media to undermine Ukraine and NATO.
According to AP, White House spokesman Jen Psaki said the United States is about to call between Biden and Putin next week.
“It will be an opportunity to discuss our serious concerns about militant rhetoric about the military buildup seen at the Ukrainian border,” AP said.
Sources close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Biden and Zelensky are also working to make a call next week.
Read the original article Business Insider