Russian troop movement on the Ukrainian border has led to talk of invasion. With forces massing in four locations, in some cases with tanks and artillery, U.S. intelligence believes the Kremlin is planning a multi-front offensive against its smaller neighbor involving up to 175,000 troops, The Washington Post reported Friday. It could begin as soon as early next year, sources told The Post.
This ominous threat of major ground war in Europe hangs over President Joe Biden's call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Though the virtual summit was only announced over the weekend, Kremlin officials have stressed that the issues in the relationship have been brewing for some time. "The Augean stables in our bilateral relations can hardly be cleaned out over several hours of negotiations," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia's TV Channel One on Monday.