Biden Speaks With Putin In Bid To Avert Invasion

The New York Times reports:

President Biden spoke with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Saturday in a bid to defuse the crisis over Ukraine, and the State Department ordered all but a “core team” of its diplomats and employees to leave the American Embassy in Kyiv over fears that Moscow would soon mount a major assault.

Reflecting the urgent concern in Washington over Russia’s growing military buildup surrounding its smaller neighbor, the Pentagon said it would temporarily pull 160 American military trainers out of the country, where they had been working with Ukrainian troops near the Polish border.

Even as Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin spoke by telephone — and after calls earlier Saturday between the top U.S. and Russian diplomats and between the countries’ defense secretaries — the path to a diplomatic resolution to the standoff appeared to be narrowing.

Read the full article.

President Biden and President Vladimir Putin of Russia spoke by phone on Saturday about the crisis over Ukraine, as U.S. officials are concerned that Moscow could soon mount a major assault. https://t.co/qtkso4vOrt

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 12, 2022