US President Joe Biden today (Tuesday) spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a video conference aimed at reducing tensions on the Ukrainian-Russian border, which began due to large Russian force assessments in the border area and an implicit threat of Russian invasion of the country.
According to the Russian news agency RIA, the two leaders greeted each other and Biden told his Russian counterpart: "Unfortunately, absent from the meeting of the 20 major powers, I hope next time we will get to talk face to face."
Other details of the call were not released, but White House officials said Biden would make it clear to the Russian president that military action in Ukraine would have a "real price."
Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with the US news network CNN that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would end in a "big bloodbath" and even stated that "Russian guys will return home in closets.
The defense minister conveyed the belligerent message after nearly two months in which Moscow has concentrated tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine's eastern border, forces that include hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles.
"If I can give any advice to President Biden, I would like to ask him to convey to President Putin the message that Ukraine is a red line for the Kremlin and the civilized world will respond without hesitation. The idea of not upsetting Russia will not work," the Ukrainian minister said.
In Ukraine today, Russia has been accused of stepping up military tensions in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists hold two provinces in the Donbas region, and giving backing to separatists' attacks on Ukrainian military reports.
US President Biden had talked about haircuts before his video conference with Putim with Western leaders and heard their concerns about Moscow's conduct in Eastern Europe in general and the Ukrainian border in particular.
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