In second call this month, Biden and Putin will talk about Ukraine crisis

President Biden’s 2nd telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin successful a period implicit subject tensions connected Ukraine’s borderline comes with the Kremlin ratcheting up unit for a sweeping caller information deal, firing a caller trial salvo of hypersonic missiles to reenforce its demands.

Putin, who initiated Thursday’s call, is apt to propulsion for swift acceptance of his projected information woody that would regularisation retired Ukraine ever joining NATO, oregon immoderate different eastward enlargement by the alliance.

Russian officials spot a clip framework of conscionable weeks for Biden to hold to demands that person agelong been ruled retired by NATO, including Russia vetoing the information decisions of Ukraine oregon different nations successful the region.

The Biden-Putin talks travel with fears that Putin whitethorn invade Ukraine, amid a Russian subject buildup adjacent Ukraine’s borderline for the 2nd clip this year. Some analysts accidental Russia’s insistence that a analyzable information woody beryllium negotiated successful specified a abbreviated clip could beryllium a pretext for subject action.

In their Dec. 7 videoconference, Biden warned Putin of pugnacious caller sanctions if Russia escalates enactment against Ukraine, a menace the Kremlin has shrugged off, saying it is utilized to Western sanctions.

Putin past week made it wide helium would not hold agelong for the written information guarantees helium demands, saying helium was not funny successful negotiations, lone results.

“It is you who indispensable springiness america guarantees, and you indispensable bash it immediately, close now,” helium told a Western writer past week astatine his yearly news conference, erstwhile asked whether helium would regularisation retired invading Ukraine. “It is the United States that has travel to our location with its missiles and is already lasting astatine our doorstep.”

Biden plans to archer Putin connected Thursday that portion the United States is prepared to proceed diplomatically, it volition respond to further incursions with economical sanctions, NATO reinforcement and assistance to Ukrainian efforts to support itself, according to a elder medication official, speaking to reporters anonymously nether crushed rules acceptable by the White House.

U.S. officials anticipation talks betwixt the leaders whitethorn assistance chill the situation up of a planned Jan. 10 gathering betwixt U.S. and Russian officials, apt successful Geneva.

“I deliberation some leaders judge that determination is genuine worth successful nonstop leader-to-leader engagement, that we are successful a infinitesimal of situation and person been for immoderate weeks present fixed the Russian buildup,” the elder medication authoritative said.

Biden’s nationalist information adviser, Jake Sullivan, said past week that the United States had its ain database of information concerns astir Russian actions to bring to the Jan. 10 talks.

An unclassified U.S. intelligence investigation revealed by The Washington Post this period recovered that Russia was preparing to determination arsenic galore arsenic 175,000 troops successful mentation for an invasion, though the White House has said Putin hasn’t made a determination yet. U.S. officials and subject analysts person predicted that if Putin decides to proceed, the violative could instrumentality spot successful precocious January oregon February.

Putin blames Western aggression for the rising subject hostility implicit Ukraine and past week threatened to respond with “military-technical measures” if his information demands were not met, without indicating what the measures would be.

On Sunday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explicitly linked Russia’s trial of a aggregate firing of Tsirkon hypersonic missiles connected Christmas Eve with Moscow’s demands for information guarantees, saying Russia hoped that its demands would “thus go much compelling.” He was interviewed connected authorities tv connected the program, “Putin.”

Putin, who has often boasted that Russia leads the satellite successful hypersonic rocket technology, said the archetypal Tsirkon rocket salvo trial was “successful, impeccable.” He called it “a large lawsuit successful the beingness of our state and a important measurement successful raising Russia’s security.”

In caller weeks Putin has aired grievances implicit NATO’s enlargement into Eastern Europe aft the autumn of the USSR 30 years ago, and his content that portion of Ukraine’s territory historically belongs to Russia.

Putin has marked retired Ukraine rank of NATO arsenic a “red line” that Russia volition not accept. In a agelong effort published successful the summer, helium made it wide helium sees Ukraine arsenic portion of Moscow’s sphere of influence, writing that Ukraine could lone beryllium genuinely sovereign successful concern with Russia.

Other officials person been progressively bellicose: earlier this period lawman overseas curate Sergei Ryabkov warned that the tensions implicit Ukraine could crook into a Cuban rocket situation script — the U.S.-Soviet showdown successful 1962 implicit Moscow’s operation of rocket bases successful Cuba that brought the satellite to the brink of atomic war.

Nikolai Patrushev, Russia’s information assembly chief, called Ukraine a “protectorate” successful a paper interrogation successful November, adding an ominous note: “There’s imaginable successful Ukraine for an outburst of tensions truthful beardown that millions of Ukrainians volition fly to question refuge successful different places.”

John Wagner, Sean Sullivan, Meryl Kornfield and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.