Biden and his allies are plotting 'reprisals' against Putin if Russia invades ...

Biden and his allies are plotting 'reprisals' against Putin if Russia invades ...
Biden and his allies are plotting 'reprisals' against Putin if Russia invades ...

Joe Biden on Monday spoke to the British prime minister to discuss what punishment Russia would face for invading Ukraine - ahead of Biden's conversation with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

The pair reportedly concluded that Russia would be slapped with sanctions, rather than military action. 

Boris Johnson has agreed with other world leaders to present a 'united front' against Russian threats towards Ukraine.

The Prime Minister spoke to US president Joe Biden, Italian prime minister Mario Draghi, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday.

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'The leaders agreed that recent meetings of the G20 and of Nato foreign ministers had been useful forums for discussions on this issue. They emphasized the need to provide a united front in the face of Russian threats and hostility.

'The leaders called on Russia to de-escalate tensions and reaffirmed their staunch support for Ukraine's territorial integrity.

'The Prime Minister reiterated the points he made to President Putin when they spoke earlier this year in this regard, and which the Foreign Secretary also made to her Russian counterpart last week. The Prime Minister said the UK would continue to use all the economic and diplomatic tools at its disposal to prevent any Russian aggression against Ukraine.

'The leaders agreed to speak again following President Biden's conversation with President Putin tomorrow.'

Russia is planning a possible military offensive against Ukraine involving an estimated 175,000 troops that could begin as soon as early 2022, according to a report on Friday. 

An unclassified intelligence document, obtained by The Washington Post, showed satellite images of troop and equipment build up around the border with Ukraine. 

Photos taken in June around Yelnya, near the northern border between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, showed empty land. By November 9, five Battalion Tactical Groups (BTGs) were in place, the photos showed.

In 2014, similar scenes were replicated along the Russian-Ukrainian border near Crimea before Russia seized the strategic port on the Black Sea.

'The Russian plans call for a military offensive against Ukraine as soon as early 2022 with a scale of forces twice what we saw this past spring during Russia's snap exercise near Ukraine's borders,' an administration official told the paper. 

A satellite photo released on November 1 by Maxar Technologies shows troops gathering near the town of Yelnya. Washington's warning comes as Putin masses his forces close to Ukrainian territory, with satellite images like this taken in the last few weeks showing large camps of tanks and artillery pieces in the region

A satellite photo released on November 1 by Maxar Technologies shows troops gathering near the town of Yelnya. Washington's warning comes as Putin masses his forces close to Ukrainian territory, with satellite images like this taken in the last few weeks showing large camps of tanks and artillery pieces in the region

Ukraine warns there are now some 94,000 Russian soldiers near its border, where it has been fighting a years-long insurgency in its eastern regions by Russian-backed separatists

Ukraine warns there are now some 94,000 Russian soldiers near its border, where it has been fighting a years-long insurgency in its eastern regions by Russian-backed separatists

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is seen on Thursday. He has long accused the West of provocation with their open invitation for Ukraine to join NATO

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is seen on Thursday. He has long accused the West of provocation with their open invitation for Ukraine to join NATO

'The plans involve extensive movement of 100 battalion tactical groups with an estimated 175,000 personnel, along with armor, artillery and equipment.' 

Ukrainian assessments have said Russia has approximately 94,000 troops near the border, but the U.S. believes the figure is closer to 70,000.

However, US officials expect an increase to 175,000, and warn that there will likely be significant movement of battalion tactical groups to and from the border 'to obfuscate intentions and to create uncertainty.' 

'Equipment may be left behind at different training ranges to enable a rapid, final buildup,' the document adds. 

Leaving the White House for Camp David, President Joe Biden said: 'We've been aware of Russia's actions for a long time and my expectation is we're going to have a long discussion.' 

Russian state media on Friday released footage of the military drills, including sniper training, taking place on the Ukrainian border

Russian state media on Friday released footage of the military drills, including sniper training, taking place on the Ukrainian border

Russian soldiers have been pictured conducting sniper exercises, believed to involve 700 gunmen, with servicemen lying on the ground in snowy conditions

Russian soldiers have been pictured conducting sniper exercises, believed to involve 700 gunmen, with servicemen lying on the ground in snowy conditions

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 border with Ukraine

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 border with Ukraine

When asked if he accepts Putin's red line - that Ukraine not join NATO - he said, 'I won't accept anybody's red line.' 

Putin said this week that Russia needs 'precise legal, judicial guarantees because our Western colleagues have failed to deliver on verbal commitments they made.'

He said a concrete agreement must 'rule out any further eastward expansion of NATO and the deployment of weapons systems posing a threat to us in close proximity to Russia's territory.' 

On Thursday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

Blinken warned Moscow of the 'severe costs' Russia would pay if it invaded Ukraine, urging his Russian counterpart on Thursday to seek a diplomatic exit from the crisis.

Anthony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, is seen meeting Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in Stockholm on Thursday

Anthony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, is seen meeting Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in Stockholm on Thursday

Russian troops are seen on October 18 carrying out exercises in Crimea. Crimea, seized from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, is one of the areas where the U.S. officials believe there to be troop build up. In the photo, a BTR-82A armored personnel carrier lands from a large landing ship during an exercise in amphibious landing on an unimproved shore held by army corps and naval infantry units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at the Opuk range. Over 8,000 servicemen and about 350 items of military hardware and weaponry took part in the drill

Russian troops are seen on October 18 carrying out exercises in Crimea. Crimea, seized from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, is one of the areas where the U.S. officials believe there to be troop build up. In the photo, a BTR-82A armored personnel carrier lands from a large landing ship during an exercise in amphibious landing on an unimproved shore held by army corps and naval infantry units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at the Opuk range. Over 8,000 servicemen and about 350 items of military hardware and weaponry took part in the drill

Blinken delivered the warning to the Russian Foreign Minister at what he called a 'candid' meeting in Stockholm, and said it was likely that Biden and Vladimir Putin would speak soon. 

'I made very clear our deep concerns and our resolve to hold Russia responsible for its actions, including our commitment to work with European allies to impose severe costs and consequences on Russia if it takes further aggressive action against Ukraine,' Blinken told a news conference after the meeting.

'It's now on Russia to de-escalate the current tensions by reversing the recent troop buildup, returning

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