Putin oversees nuclear drills, US says Russian forces 'poised to strike' Ukraine
India Today
With Western fears of war rising, the White House said US President Joe Biden's national security team told him they still believed Russia could launch an attack in Ukraine "at any time".
Russia's strategic nuclear forces held exercises overseen by President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, and Washington accused Russian troops massed near Ukraine's border of advancing and being "poised to strike".
With Western fears of war rising, the White House said US President Joe Biden's national security team told him they still believed Russia could launch an attack in Ukraine "at any time" and he planned to convene his top advisers on Sunday to discuss the crisis.
Foreign ministers from the G7 group of rich nations said they had seen no evidence Russia is reducing its military activity in the area and remained "gravely concerned" about the situation.
After Kyiv and Moscow traded accusations over new shelling near the border, France and Germany urged all or some of their citizens in Ukraine to leave. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russian forces were beginning to "uncoil and move closer" to the border.
ALSO READ: US hopes India will support America if Russia attacks Ukraine
"We hope he (Putin) steps back from the brink of conflict," Austin told a news conference in Lithuania, saying an invasion of Ukraine was not inevitable.
Russia ordered the military build-up while demanding NATO prevent Ukraine from ever joining the alliance but says Western warnings that it is planning to invade Ukraine are hysterical and dangerous. Moscow says it is pulling back, but Washington and allies say the build-up is mounting.
