BREAKING NEWS: Biden says he will make it 'very difficult' for Putin to invade Ukraine: President responds to Russian troop build-up and deteriorating relations between Moscow and Washington Biden said he had been in constant contact with allies over threat to Ukraine On Friday, he said his administration was putting together 'comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives' to stop Putin invading Kyiv fears Moscow is ready to invade next month as it masses troops on border By Rob Crilly, Senior U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.Com Published: 17:02 GMT, 3 December 2021 | Updated: 17:04 GMT, 3 December 2021 1 Viewcomments President Joe Biden on Friday said he was putting together plans aimed at making it difficult for Russian President Vladimir Putin to move on Ukraine. Kyiv has been sounding the alarm with as many as 100,000 Russian troops moving close to its border. A call between the two presidents is expected in days but Biden, answering questions after a White House speech about the economy, told reporters he had not yet spoken to Putin. He said he had been in constant contact with allies in Europe and with Ukrainian leaders. 'My secretary of state and national security adviser been engaged extensively,' he said. 'And what I am doing is putting together what I believe to be will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do. 'But that's in play right now.' Biden on Friday said he was putting together plans to make it difficult for Russian President Putin to move on Ukraine, amid fresh warnings from Kyiv that an invasion was imminent Russian military personnel were filmed training with rocket-propelled grenade launchers amid heightened tensions over the build up of more than 94,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border Moscow has repeatedly insisted it has no intention of invading and instead has accused Ukraine of preparing for strikes. Tensions have grown in recent weeks and escalated further on Friday. Ukraine's defense minister said Russia was gearing up for a military offensive in January and had stationed more than 94,000 troops with striking distance of the border. Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine was ready to strike back and was building two naval bases on its south coast. 'Our intelligence analyses all scenarios, including the worst,' Reznikov said, according to Reuters. 'It notes that the likelihood of a large-scale escalation from Russia exists. The most likely time to reach readiness for an escalation will be the end of January.' Russian state media upped the ante, showing pictures of Russian soldiers conducting sniper exercises. Russian state media reported the drills, taking place in three of the four Russian regions that border Ukraine, involved teaching soldiers sniper camouflage, long distance shooting and hand-to-hand combat. A day earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Stockholm to demand that Russia withdraw troops from the border. Lavrov responded by accusing the West of 'playing with fire' by denying Russia a say in NATO expansion into countries of the former Soviet Union. Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a tense diplomatic standoff ever since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and then backed a separatist insurgency in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, known as the Donbas. More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting. Repeated reports about a Russian buildup of armed forces close to Ukraine this year has only increased fears of a new conflict. During the past week, Russia traded accusations and threats with Ukraine, the United States and its NATO allies this week. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility