The situation is tense / US makes strong warning to Russia

The US has warned it will send reinforcements to Eastern Europe in the event that Russia attempts to invade Ukraine. On the eve of the talks between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, the US also made it clear that severe economic sanctions would be imposed.

The meeting of the two leaders is expected to take place after a week, where according to foreign media, Biden will make it clear to Putin that the US will not stop Ukraine's future membership in NATO.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday and reiterated Washington's "unwavering support" in the face of "Russian aggression," the US State Department said.

With about 100,000 Russian troops already assembled on the border with Ukraine, this is the worst crisis since 2015.

Russia has virtually frozen direct contacts with the Ukrainian government and Zelenskiy, whom it has accused of preparing an attack on regions of southeastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed forces. Ukraine has vehemently denied the allegations.

According to analysts, Moscow is threatening to launch a large-scale military offensive, although there are differing assessments of how likely a Russian offensive is and what could trigger it.