Joe Biden met Vladimir Putin in a video conference on Tuesday afternoon (7 December) as tensions remain high around Russia’s military mobilisation on the Ukrainian border. Biden has been consulting European allies on a joint response.
Russia has moved thousands of troops to its border with Ukraine in recent weeks. US intelligence estimates put the current number at 70,000 and reports that this could reach 175,000 as early as January (the Ukrainian government puts the current figure at 90,000). Ukraine says tanks, artillery and other military units have been deployed to Crimea (illegally annexed by Russia in 2014) and the Donbas region, which is inside Ukrainian state borders but held by Russian-backed separatists. The US president is expected to threaten Putin with further economic sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine.
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