The Biden administration is now reportedly weighing plans to evacuate American citizens from Ukraine if Russia invades, creating an untenable security situation, according to sources.
The contingency plan is being put together by the Pentagon, sources told CNN.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has warned of a 'bloody massacre' and five million Ukrainian refugees fleeing into Europe if Russia decides to invade Kiev.
Satellite images show increasing numbers of Russian troops massing on the border of Ukraine – as many as 175,000 according to US analysts.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told CNN there would be a 'really bloody massacre' if Russia invaded Ukraine and warned that 'Russian guys also will come back in coffins.'
The Pentagon is making plans for a number of different potential scenarios, including the need to evacuate just a small number of nonessential US government employees right up to the need to rescue large swaths of American citizens.
Evacuation planning calls to mind the bungled Afghanistan withdrawal, where US troops died evacuating American citizens and some were left behind. The US does not want to be caught 'flat-footed' this time around, one source told CNN. The military has a similar contingency plan for US personnel in Ethiopia.
Typically, if a security situation deteriorates, the first step is for the US embassy to issue messages warning citizens abroad to leave the country on commercial flights. The US embassy in Kyiv has not yet done so. The last security alert it issued was in November and warned US citizens 'of concerning reports of unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine's borders and in occupied Crimea.'
Biden faced off with Putin in a tense video call from the White House Situation Room on Tuesday morning, where warned his Russian counterpart there will be severe economic consequences if Moscow invades the Ukraine.
Tuesday's call is one of the biggest tests of Biden's diplomatic skills to date as he tries to head off a Russian attack that could lead to additional US troops being deployed to Eastern Europe to support NATO allies against an aggressive threat from the Kremlin.
Putin, meanwhile, has complained that Ukraine poses a threat to Russia because of its relationship with the US and Western Europe.
A State Department official briefed Congress on the tough sanctions package being prepared if Moscow invades. The administration has stressed that it is still unclear whether Putin has come to the decision to do so.
A White House spokesman said Monday evening that Biden
