US President Joe Biden said Friday he would make it “very, very difficult” for Russia to launch any invasion of Ukraine, which warned that a large-scale attack may be planned for next month.
Washington and Kiev say Moscow has massed troops near Ukraine’s borders and accuse Russia of planning an invasion.
Biden and President Vladimir Putin are due to hold a video call shortly to discuss the rising tensions, both sides confirmed Friday.
Biden told reporters in Washington he was putting together “the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do.”
“The most likely time to reach readiness for escalation will be the end of January,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told parliament in Kiev on Friday.
A report in the Washington Post on Friday citing US officials and an intelligence document said Russia was planning a multi-front offensive involving up to 175,000 troops as soon as next year.
Reznikov said a “winter training period” had started in Russia and that Moscow had already launched exercises near Ukrainian territory.
He estimated that Russia had around 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border. Russia denies any military build-up.
On the frontline in eastern Ukraine, government troops said they were ready to repel any Russian assault.
“Our task is simple: not to let the enemy enter our country,” a soldier named Andriy, 29, told AFP, smoking in a trench near the frontline town of Svitlodarsk.
“All our guys are ready to hold them back. This is our land, we will protect it until the end,” another soldier, Yevgen, 24, added.
