Joe Biden to hold talks with Ukraine’s president as Russia masses troops

Talks planned after US and Russian leaders exchanged warnings over Ukraine in a 50-minute call on Thursday

Tensions high amid Russia’s military build-up at border with Ukraine, US presence in Europe

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A Russian soldier taking part in drills in the Rostov region, southern Russia, on December 22. Photo: AP

Published: 6:51am, 1 Jan 2022Updated: 12:52pm, 1 Jan 2022

US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky will speak by phone on Sunday, after the US leader again warned that Russia’s Vladimir Putin would face a tough response to any invasion of the eastern European country.

Using some of his most direct language yet, Biden said Friday: “I’m not going to negotiate here in public, but we made it clear he cannot – I’ll emphasise, cannot – invade Ukraine”.

He added, in brief remarks to reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, that he had “made it clear to President Putin that we will have severe sanctions, we will increase our presence in Europe, with Nato allies” if Russia invades Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden speaking on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone from his residence in Wilmington, Delaware on Thursday. Photo: EPA

During the call on Sunday with Zelensky, a White House official said, Biden will “reaffirm US support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, discuss Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders, and review preparations for upcoming diplomatic engagements to help de-escalate the situation in the region”.

Zelensky tweeted: “Look forward to talking again with @POTUS this Sunday to coordinate our steps for the sake of peace in Ukraine and security in Europe”.

Washington and its European allies accuse Russia of threatening former Soviet territory Ukraine with a new invasion.

Some 100,000 Russian troops are massed near the border of the country, where Putin already seized the Crimea region in 2014 and is accused of fomenting a pro-Russian separatist war which erupted that same year in the east.

Moscow describes the troop presence as protection against the expansion of Nato, although Ukraine has not been offered membership in the military alliance.