FirstFT: US warns Russia could invade Ukraine ‘as soon as tomorrow’

The US and its allies are preparing for a Russian invasion of Ukraine “as soon as tomorrow”, Joe Biden’s national security adviser said yesterday.

In an interview on Fox News Sunday Jake Sullivan said that American military planners were preparing for all scenarios, including a “contingency where Russian forces drive on the Ukrainian capital”.

Diplomatic efforts to ease the security crisis resume today, with French president Emmanuel Macron visiting Moscow for face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden holding his first set of in-person talks with the new German chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House amid questions from western partners about Berlin’s reliability in this crisis.

The US president sought to co-ordinate the west’s “diplomatic and deterrence efforts” yesterday when he spoke to Macron by phone.

“The leaders discussed ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts in response to Russia’s continued military build-up on Ukraine’s borders, and affirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said after the call.

Meanwhile, Brussels is examining how to shield European consumers from a potential energy crisis as part of plans to protect households, businesses and borders from the fallout of a Russian military escalation in Ukraine.

• Go deeper: Brussels wants to target the banking and energy sectors to hurt Moscow using sanctions, but must minimise damage to European economies.

• Explainer: Russia’s ire at Nato’s eastward expansion hinges on its perceived threat to a treaty provision: “the indivisibility of security”. What is it? Moscow correspondent Polina Ivanova and defence and security correspondent John Paul Rathbone explain.

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