Thread: Biden says he warned Ukraine's President Zelensky during call to 'prepare for impact'

Biden says he warned Ukraine's President Zelensky during call to 'prepare for impact' and that Russian forces could 'SACK Kiev' - but White House denies any new action even as Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne waits on standby

• Pentagon spokesman John Kirby revealed that troops from Fort Bragg, Fort Carson and Fort Campbell are among the 8,500 on heightened alert
• Biden and Zelensky had a phone call today where the president reportedly told the Ukrainian leader to brace for an imminent invasion
• The Defense Department is preparing for a potential deployment into Europe
• NATO and US sent letters to Putin dismissing his main security demands around Ukraine, amid fear of war
• John Sullivan, America's man in Russia, was pictured delivering the letter by hand in Moscow late last night
• Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said there is 'little room for optimism' as Russia considers its response
• Sergei Lavrov, Russia's top negotiator, left door to more talks open but said decision will be up to Putin
• Ukrainian troops were pictured training with British NLAW anti-tank weapons, as they prepared for invasion

By ELIZABETH ELKIND, POLITICS REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and CHRIS PLEASANCE and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 16:43 EST, 27 January 2022 | UPDATED: 20:52 EST, 27 January 2022

President Joe Biden reportedly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday to brace his country for a certain Russian invasion.
Biden told Zelensky that an invasion is virtually certain and to 'prepare for impact,' CNN reported. He said Kiev could be 'sacked' by Russian forces.
He reportedly said Ukraine would not be getting significantly more military help, including reiterating that no U.S. troops would be deployed there, nor would there be preemptive sanctions on Russia or any progress with NATO.

A Ukrainian official told CNN that the call between the two leaders 'did not go well.'
The warning was not part of a White House readout provided after the call - and the spokesperson for the National Security Council Emily Horne called CNN's reporting 'not true' in a tweet.
'This is not true. President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February. He has previously said this publicly & we have been warning about this for months. Reports of anything more or different than that are completely false,' Horne wrote.
'Also, no one said "sacked." The only person who should be "sacked" is the anonymous source who is circulating an inaccurate portrayal of this conversation,' Horne added in a statement to CNN.
The two world leaders conversed on the phone as the Department of Defense was issuing a chilling warning that same afternoon that a Russian invasion into Ukraine 'could be imminent' amid a drastic increase in combat forces at the former Soviet state's borders.
'We continue to see, including in the last 24 hours, more accumulation of credible combat forces arrayed by the Russians in, again, the western part of their country and in Belarus,' Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a press conference.
Kirby also revealed that troops from Fort Bragg, Fort Carson and Fort Campbell have been placed on heightened alert to deploy to Eastern Europe as tensions in the region compound.
The White House's readout after Biden's call with Zelensky was much more toned down than the president's reported warning.
'President Biden reaffirmed the readiness of the United States along with its allies and partners to respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine. He also underscored the commitment of the United States to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,' the statement read.
+44
View gallery

An armed serviceman walks along a trench on the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants on the frontline with Ukrainian government forces near Spartak

+44
View gallery

The National Security Council's spokesperson Emily Horne publicly disputed CNN's reporting in a tweet Thursday night, saying in a statement to the network that 'no one said "sacked"'

+44
View gallery

An image of the 82nd airborne taken last year. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said this division and others would be placed on high alert to deploy to NATO countries in Eastern Europe

+44
View gallery

A serviceman holds his machine-gun in a shelter on the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants on the frontline

+44
View gallery

A serviceman looks at machine gun ammunition on the frontline of an area controlled by pro-Russian militants

+44
View gallery

Servicemen hold their Kalashnikov rifles as they talk to each other in a trench on the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants

It noted that the U.S. had provided Ukraine with more than $500 million aid dollars in the last year, and 'is exploring additional macroeconomic support to help Ukraine’s economy amidst pressure resulting from Russia’s military build-up.'
The US State Department has said it anticipates an attack on Ukraine launched by the Kremlin in as early as mid-February.
Asked about the Defense Department's timeline, Kirby said: 'We have always said and said for quite some time, another incursion by Russia could be imminent -- and imminent means imminent.'
He declined to give a specific timeline but added that there was no 'final decision' by Vladimir Putin to send his military into Ukraine.
'We believe here at the department, there is still time and space for diplomacy,' Kirby said.
Earlier this week Kirby revealed that 8,500 U.S.-based troops would be placed on high alert to deploy to NATO countries in Eastern Europe in the event the Western alliance activates its Response Force.
+44
View gallery

A woman passes by a T-34 tank and other Soviet-era military vehicles while practising nordic walking in a park in the rebel-held city of Donetsk, Ukraine on January 27

He said on Thursday that those units include service members from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell and 4th Infantry at Fort Carson, Colorado.
The teams would be made up of medical support, aviation support, logistics support and combat formations, Kirby said.
He stressed again that the units are on heightened alert and have no order to deploy at present.
Biden fears that his plan to deploy as many as 8,500 troops to Eastern Europe might be blocked by NATO countries that do not want to enrage Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. president wants to deploy the US forces to countries neighboring Ukraine as part of a NATO force to deter further aggression by Putin.
But he is concerned that the move might be blocked by member countries that fear hosting the troops and enraging Putin, or by countries such as Germany that rely on Russia for 50 per cent of their gas.
A single NATO member can veto the plan.
Biden has reserved the right to act unilaterally or bilaterally with the UK standing firmly behind him.
He has put 8,500 US troops on standby but yesterday indicated that he was considering deploying just 1,000 as part of a NATO force.
The world has been holding its breath today, waiting for Vladimir Putin to respond after he was sent two letters dismissing his top security demands around Ukraine.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said Thursday that the Russian strongman is still mulling over letters from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO chief Jens Stoltenburg which are thought to have ruled out the possibility of Ukraine being banned from the alliance and the removal of troops from ex-Soviet states.
Blinken's letter was delivered to Moscow's foreign ministry late last night, handed over in-person by ambassador John Sullivan who was pictured leaving the building as snow fell, clutching a black leather folder in his hand.
While giving little ground on Russia's main demands, Blinken said the letter does present 'serious' offers to de-escalate tensions - thought to include controls on nuclear arms and limits on military exercises.
+44
View gallery

Concerns are growing that President Joe Biden may be blocked by some NATO allies from deployment U.S. forces to Eastern Europe and the Baltic region if he tries to use the NATO Response Force (NRF). Just one county's objection would block the move

Peskov said there is 'little room for optimism' after an initial reading and that Moscow's main concerns are being ignored, but left the option of further talks open - at least for now. 'We won't rush with our assessments,' he said.
Separately, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the letter contains some elements that could lead to 'the start of a serious talk on secondary issues' but 'contains no positive response on the main issue,'
Lavrov said top officials will now submit their proposals to Putin, and that his response would come 'soon'.
With the threat of war hanging heavy in the air, Russia's troop build-up on Ukraine's border continued today as Ukrainian troops were pictured training with British NLAW anti-tank weapons that were delivered last week as part of a package of UK military aid.
British instructors have been sent to train the Ukrainians to use the rockets, and Kiev's troops were seen carrying them around a fake combat zone as they prepared for a Russian attack. NLAWs are disposable missile launchers that use tracking technology and high-explosive warheads to take out tanks, such as the ones used by Russia.
It comes after it was revealed that UK warships and fighter jets could be on the move within days towards eastern Europe in an attempt to deter a Russian attack.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace - who is in Berlin today ahead of talks with his Russian counterpart in Moscow - is understood to have requested a range of options from military chiefs.
That includes deploying British troops to Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary alongside thousands of American soldiers heading to the region. Washington has asked its allies to contribute manpower.
The move is significant because it was expected to come only after an attack on Ukraine.
Elsewhere today...

• Ben Wallace said there is still 'a chance' of avoiding conflict in Ukraine but admitted he is 'not optimistic'
• Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the UK is not ruling out support for personal sanctions against President Vladimir Putin in the event Russia invades
• NATO is considering deploying some troops in Slovakia along with other countries on its eastern flank in response to the Russian military build-up near Ukraine, the Slovak foreign minister said
• A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said even the thought of a war breaking out between Russia and Ukraine was 'unacceptable', as Moscow continued to deny plans to attack

+44
View gallery



Ukrainian troops are trained how to use British NLAW anti-tank weapons in Kiev, after they were shipped to the country last week as part of military support to help the former Soviet state defend itself

+44
View gallery



British instructors have been sent to train the Ukrainians, and today Ukrainian troops were pictured moving with the weapons through fake combat zones as part of training

+44
View gallery



US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan delivers a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, as the world waits to see how Putin will respond

+44
View gallery



President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Motherland monument at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery to mark the 78th anniversary of the end of Leningrad Siege today

+44
View gallery



Two Ukrainian troops are pictured entering a building carrying British NLAW anti-tank weapons as part of training exercises taking place today, in preparation for the possibility of a Russian invasion

+44
View gallery



Ukrainian troops carrying British-made NLAW anti-tank weapons take part in training exercises amid fears Russia will attack

+44
View gallery



Russian Shilka mobile anti-aircraft guns and Kornet-T anti-tank missile carriers are pictured arriving in Gomel, Belarus, around 20 miles from the Ukraine border and just 130 miles from Kiev

+44
View gallery



Russian Shilka mobile anti-aircraft guns are pictured arriving in Belarus aboard a train, amid fears they could be used to stage a lightning assault on Kiev - which sits just 130 miles away

+44
View gallery



Putin visits the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery to mark the 78th anniversary of the end of Leningrad Siege

RAF pilots and crews have experience of policing the region's airspace because Typhoons from the 121 Expeditionary Air Wing spent much of 2021 in Romania on manoeuvres.
Royal Navy sailors witnessed Russian aggression last summer when HMS Defender drew enemy fire in the Black Sea off Crimea.
The units will not deploy to Ukraine but to neighbouring Nato states as a deterrent.
Western security sources say there are now between 112,000 and 120,000 combat-ready soldiers at the front with more on their way. '[It] could be a lot more', one source told NBC.
Videos also revealed columns of armoured vehicles and fighter jets being moved to Belarus, ostensibly for military exercises next month though the fear is they could be used for a lightning-fast offensive on Kiev which sits just a few dozen miles away.
Amid the tensions, a Ukrainian national guard conscript opened fire on a military factory in the centre of the country - killing five and wounding five more with a rifle he had just been handed.
Artemiy Ryabchuk, 21, opened fire around 1.40am in the city of Dnipro which sits on the Dnieper river around 170 miles from Crimea. He fled the scene and is now being hunted, with Ukrainian security services saying his motive is unclear.
However, it comes after security experts warned Russia may launch covert attacks inside Ukraine, either as a pre-text to an invasion, or simply as a way of destabilising the country and sapping confidence in the prime minister.
President Biden also stepped up his threat of economic sanctions in the wake of the letters being sent, saying that Nord Stream 2 - Russia's $11billion gas pipe to Germany - would categorically not go ahead if Ukraine is attacked.
However, Germany has not given any such guarantee and it is unclear how exactly Biden plans to stop the pipe if Berlin refuses to play ball. Nord Stream 2 completed construction last year after Biden lifted sanctions on the company building it, and it only needs German approval to begin pumping gas.
Major combat readiness drills are being carried out in eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Black seas with the Russian Northern Fleet also drilling in the Arctic.
Footage shows a live-fire exercise against a 'mock enemy' by the Aleksin and Kabardino-Balkariya antisubmarine ships in the Baltic. The vessels are part of a 20-ship naval task force currently at sea, with a similar operation underway in the Black Sea.
'The combat exercise was carried out at varying distances using shipborne artillery weapons, AK-176M and AK-630M,' said a statement from the Russian Baltic Fleet.
Separately Su-24M front-line bombers and Su-30SM multirole fighters practiced bombing targets at a training range in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave wedged between NATO countries Lithuania and Poland.
And drills were held in the same location with Mi-24 and Mi-8 attack helicopters.
A massive Russian military buildup in Belarus deepened as a video showed the the completion of the transfer of dozens of Sukhoi Su-35S fighter jets from the extreme east of Russia.
The footage shows the warplanes arriving in autocratic Belarus which borders Ukraine, ostensibly for military exercises, but the West fears the massing of troops and military equipment is an invasion force.
Separately, a another video shows a drill to move Su-35S and Su-30SM fighters and Su-34 bombers from their permanent airfields due to an enemy missile strike.
Elsewhere it was revealed that thousands of Russian communications troops in the military district bordering Ukraine are involved in 'large scale radio training' as part of a combat readiness exercise.
'More than 1,500 military personnel are taking part in the planned combat training event,' said commander of the Western Military District Col-Gen Alexander Zhuravlev.
Some 300 units of military and hi-tech equipment is involved, including the modern P-260 Redut, Andromeda and Belozer complexes, he said.
Blinken said he would speak again in the coming days to Lavrov, as a separate initiative by France brought a promise by Moscow at least to keep talking to Ukraine's government.
One month after Russia put forward sweeping security proposals, having sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine's border, the United States delivered a reply in co-ordination with NATO allies and said it was ready for any eventuality.
'It sets out a serious diplomatic path forward should Russia choose it,' Blinken told reporters of the US response, which he said would remain confidential.
He renewed an offer on 'reciprocal' measures to address mutual security concerns, including reductions of missiles in Europe and transparency on military drills and Western aid to Ukraine.
But he made clear that the United States would not budge on Russia's core demand that Ukraine never be allowed to join NATO, the US-backed military alliance.
'From our perspective, I can't be more clear - NATO's door is open, remains open, and that is our commitment,' Blinken said.
Russia lands Su-35 fighter aircrafts in Belarus for additional drills
continued

Biden admin warns that serious Russian combat forces have gathered near Ukraine in last 24 hours | Daily Mail Online

multiple videos at the page link

+44
View gallery

Satellite images reveal new units of Russian tanks parked near the Pogonovo training area, around 100 miles from the Ukraine border, as the world waits to find out how Putin will respond to letters dismissing his security demands

+44
View gallery

Russian tanks are seen parked near Pogonovo, around 100 miles from the Ukraine border, amid fears they are massing for an invasion if Putin's security demands are not met

+44
View gallery

Russian artillery crews conduct live-fire drills at the Kuzminsky range in Rostov-on-Don, amid tensions with nearby Ukraine

+44
View gallery

+44
View gallery

Blinken (left) has kept the exact contents of the letter a secret, but said it categorically rules out the possibility that Ukraine is banned from joining NATO. Sergei Lavrov (right), the Russian foreign minister, has said his country is ready to take 'retaliatory measures' if its demands are not met

+44
View gallery

A Russian T-72B tank takes part in combat readiness drills near Rostov-on-Don, around 70 miles from the Ukraine border and close to areas where rebel groups are fighting the Ukrainian army

+44
View gallery

Russian armoured personnel carriers are pictured taking part in training exercises in Rostov-on-Don, close to Ukraine

+44
View gallery

Russian troops carry an ammunition crate through fields in Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia, during training exercises

+44
View gallery

Russian tanks and armoured vehicles take part in training exercises in southern Russia, close to the frontlines in Ukraine

+44
View gallery

Kremlin's deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak (left) and Russian Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov give a press conference after talks in Paris over Ukraine last night, saying they have agreed to further discussions

Russia, which has a fraught historical relationship with Ukraine, has fueled an insurgency in the former Soviet republic's east that has killed more than 13,000 people since 2014.
Russia that year also seized Crimea after the overthrow of a government in Kyiv that had resisted efforts to move closer to Europe.
The United States has warned of severe and swift consequences if Russia invades, including possible personal sanctions on President Vladimir Putin, and NATO has put 8,500 troops on standby.
'While we are hoping for and working for a good solution - de-escalation - we are also prepared for the worst,' NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
In a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Blinken on Wednesday sought to impress upon Beijing the 'global security and economic risks posed by further Russian aggression against Ukraine,' according to State Department spokesman Ned Price.
China's foreign ministry said in a statement after the call that Wang told Blinken Russia's 'reasonable security concerns should be taken seriously and resolved.'
Blinken's deputy Wendy Sherman, who led a previous round of talks with Russia, said Putin seemed ready to invade despite the US warnings.
'I have no idea whether he's made the ultimate decision, but we certainly see every indication that he is going to use military force sometime perhaps (between) now and the middle of February,' Sherman told a forum.
In another bid to defuse tensions, senior Russian and Ukrainian officials met for eight hours in Paris with representatives of France and Germany.
Dmitry Kozak, the Kremlin deputy chief of staff, said the talks were 'not simple' but that another round would take place in two weeks in Berlin.
France said after the so-called Normandy Format talks that the envoys committed to a fragile July 2020 ceasefire in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Moscow separatists.

+44
View gallery

+44
View gallery

Russian armured vehicles are pictured arriving in Belarus (left), amid fears they could be used to assault Kiev, while military transports are seen in Smolensk (right)

+44
View gallery

A Russian Sukhoi-34 fighter jet is seen on the runway in Belarus after arriving from Russia, amid fears that Putin is massing his forces there for an assault on Kiev

+44
View gallery

A Russian navy ship preparing to take part in exercises in the Black Sea at Sevastopol, occupied Crimea, on Thursday

+44
View gallery

Russia is preparing to hold naval drills in the Black Sea, which analysts fear could provide cover for them to launch attacks

+44
View gallery

A Russian battleship takes part in live-fire exercises in the Baltic Sea, part of widespread Russian naval drills across five seas that involve 140 ships

+44
View gallery

A view from the deck of a Russian Navy battleship during artillery fire drills in the Baltic Sea on Thursday

'We need a supplementary pause. We hope that this process will have results in two weeks,' Kozak said.
An aide to French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that the talks had been about resolving the separatist fighting in eastern Ukraine, not the threat of a Russian invasion.
France and Germany have joined the United States in warning Russia against an invasion but have been less direct about sanctions.
Germany's new coalition government has sent mixed signals on whether it would sever the soon-to-open Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia, which will circumvent Ukraine to provide gas to Europe's largest economy.
Amid warnings that tensions with the West could push Russia to squeeze supplies, Australian officials said Canberra stood ready to ship natural gas to Europe.
'We haven't received a formal request, but we are indicating that, of course, we are ready to support our friends,' Resources Minister Keith Pitt told media in Sydney.
US President Joe Biden, who spoke with European leaders by video-conference on Tuesday, said any Russian military attack on Ukraine would trigger 'enormous consequences' and could even 'change the world.'
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, while brushing off the impact, warned that attempts to punish Putin personally would be 'destructive.'
The United States again encouraged its citizens to leave Ukraine, warning an invasion could be imminent.
But Ukraine's government, hoping to prevent panic, has played down the dangers and sought to offer ways out.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters the Russian troops posed 'a threat to Ukraine' but that the numbers deployed were 'insufficient for a full-scale offensive.'
Andriy Yermak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky who took part in the Paris talks, wrote on Twitter that the meeting was 'a strong signal of readiness for a peaceful settlement.'

Biden admin warns that serious Russian combat forces have gathered near Ukraine in last 24 hours | Daily Mail Online

here's the breakdown so far

the pedo suppliers in Ukraine demand protection from Russia

Pedo Joe wants Americans to go protect the pedo network

Pedo Joe is scared to use nukes because Russia has a lot more nukes than we have

Pedo Joe decimated our ground forces with the Covid Jab

America will be flattened; Retarded Joey don't care about the useless eaters as long as he don't go to prison

break out the Bile and read Revelations