Biden to hold call with European leaders as situation at Ukraine-Russia border deteriorates

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will speak with European leaders Monday afternoon as he mulls the option of deploying military personnel and equipment to the region amid the rapidly deteriorating security situation at Ukraine’s border with Russia.

Biden will speak via secure video with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy, President Andrzej Duda of Poland, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

The call will take place from the Situation Room at 3 p.m. EST. A senior administration official, who declined to be identified in order to share unannounced details, told NBC News that while conversations are underway with NATO countries about sending troops to Eastern Europe, Biden has not yet ordered a deployment.

The latest revelations come as the State Department issued an order Sunday evening for eligible family members of personnel at its embassy in Kyiv to leave the country due to the deteriorating security conditions.

The State Department also recommended on Sunday that all U.S. citizens in Ukraine depart the country immediately, citing Russia’s extraordinary military buildup on the border.

“Our recommendation to U.S. citizens currently in Ukraine is that they should consider departing now using commercial or privately available transportation options,” a senior State Department official said Sunday evening on a call with reporters.

“The security conditions, particularly along Ukraine’s border and in Russian-occupied Crimea and in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine are unpredictable and can deteriorate with little notice,” added the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to share details.

A second senior State Department official said they were not able to provide the exact number of U.S. citizens residing or currently traveling in Ukraine.

“U.S. citizens are not required to register their travel to a foreign country and we do not maintain a comprehensive list,” explained the official.

“We’re conveying very clearly now that now is the time to leave and that there are means to do that,” explained White House press secretary Jen Psaki when asked about the State Department’s travel advisory.

For months, the West has watched an extraordinary build-up of Russian forces and equipment at its border with Ukraine.

The buildup mimics Russian moves ahead of its 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea, a peninsula on the Black Sea, which sparked an international uproar and triggered a series of sanctions against Moscow. The seizure of Crimea also saw Russia’s removal from the Group of 8, or G-8, referring to the eight major global economies.

Psaki added that the United States alongside NATO allies remain open to a diplomatic resolution with Russia and called on the Kremlin to remove its sizable force posture on the shared border with Ukraine.

“It is Russia who has tens of 1,000s of troops on the border of Ukraine. They have the power to de-escalate and we would certainly welcome that,” she added.

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Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/24/biden-to-hold-call-with-european-leaders-over-ukraine-russia-border-crisis.html