President Joe Biden will meet virtually with colleagues NATO members on Friday morning to reassure the eastern allies that they will be protected as Russian troops prepare to enter Kiev.
U.S. intelligence officials are worried that the Ukrainian capital could fall in days, CNN it is reported that Russian forces are 20 miles from its location and residents have been urged to make Molotov cocktails to help protect the city.
Amid reports that the Kremlin is shooting at him, Ukrainian President Vladimir Green criticizes the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone.
“Who is ready to fight with us?” “I don’t see anyone,” he said. “Who is ready to guarantee Ukraine NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.
“We are defending our country on our own. “The world’s most powerful forces are watching this from a distance,” Zelenski said.
President Joe Biden will meet virtually with other NATO members on Friday morning to reassure the Eastern Allies that they will be protected.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky criticizes the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone
The Ukrainian National Guard formed in the streets of Kiev on Friday as it prepared to defend the city from Russian attack shortly before heavy gunfire and explosions were heard.
Russia’s plans to capture Kiev and forcibly end the war in Ukraine have been uncovered by US intelligence, which says troops and armor will be used to capture airports before a force of 10,000 paratroopers is sent to capture the city. government and force them to sign a peace agreement to regain control of Russia’s country
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg convenes leaders for virtual summit
General view of a meeting room during a virtual summit convened by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after Russia launches a large-scale military operation against Ukraine in Brussels, Belgium
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has offered to send a delegation to Belarus to negotiate with Ukraine, but only under difficult conditions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was ready to send a delegation to Minsk. But Peskov made it clear that Russia expects “denazification and demilitarization” of Ukraine from Ukraine, which means the capitulation of Kiev.
As fighting continues in Ukraine, Biden will begin his Friday with a virtual meeting with 30 NATO members concerned about Russian aggression on their eastern flank. Some of NATO’s 30 members supply weapons and support to Ukraine, but NATO as an organization does not.
“Make no mistake, we will defend every ally against every attack on every inch of NATO territory,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who will chair the summit, told reporters on Thursday. “An attack on an ally will provoke a response from the whole alliance.”
During the meeting, leaders are likely to consider activating the NATO Response Force, which can number up to 40,000 troops. A rapidly deploying ground brigade, part of the NRF – made up of 5,000 troops and commanded by France along with Germany, Poland, Portugal and Spain – is now on high alert.
Some NATO countries are already taking defensive measures as Russian aggression grows.
Lithuania declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed troops to Ukraine. Lithuania borders the Kaliningrad region of Russia to the southwest. NATO members Belarus is to the east, Latvia is to the north and Poland is to the south.
“We cannot accept the luxury of being a discussion club,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said last night at an extraordinary summit of European Union leaders to impose a “high price” on Russia through sanctions. We need to take action.
The Baltic members said that the West “urgently needs to provide the Ukrainian people with weapons, ammunition and all other military support to protect themselves, as well as economic, financial and political assistance and support, humanitarian aid.”
NATO began strengthening its defenses in Northeast Europe after Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014. Recently, some members also sent troops, planes and warships to the Black Sea region, near allies Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
In the short term, NATO is activating an emergency planning system to allow commanders to move forces more quickly. The Pentagon said Thursday it was sending 7,000 troops to Europe in addition to 5,000 recently deployed.
Independence Square in the center of Kiev, Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers occupy positions in the center of Kiev
Soldiers of the Ukrainian National Guard occupy positions in the center of Kiev
In addition, pressure on Biden is growing to personally sanction Putin. The United States has already sanctioned several members of Putin’s inner circle and many Russian oligarchs who made money from his regime.
Biden said Thursday that sanctioning the Russian leader remains “on the table”, but declined to answer a question about why Putin has not yet been a personal target.
The European Union will freeze Putin’s assets and those of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but will not impose a travel ban on them, the New York Times reports.