A day after United States (US) President Joe Biden's telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden on Sunday, 13 February, engaged in a nearly hour-long call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, agreeing to pursue 'diplomacy and deterrence' amid mounting fears of a Russian invasion.
"The two leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to pursue diplomacy and deterrence in response to Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's borders."The White House
The tensions in Ukraine are at an all-time high with Russia encircling the neighbour with close to 100,000 troops, and Washington warning of an 'all-out invasion' in response.
As per a readout of the conversation between the two presidents, "President Biden reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
"If Russia undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States, together with our Allies and partners, will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia," Biden had stressed on Saturday.
Russia Increases Deployments in Belarus, Crimea
Meanwhile, satellite images captured Russian deployments in Belarus, Crimea and western Russia, indicating a rise in the nation's border forces, NDTV reported.
As per visuals released by Maxar, new deployments of troops and equipment were seen on 10 February at the Oktyabrskoye airfield. Over 550 troop tents and hundreds of vehicles are reportedly stationed at the abandoned land, situated north of Simferopol.
Further, new equipments and troops also arrived on the shores of Lake Donuzla. Here, extensive artillery deployments and training movements were traced.
Additional deployment was also identified near the town of Slavne, on the northwest coast of the Crimean peninsula.
(With inputs from NDTV.)
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