Joe Biden has issued a chilling warning for Ukraine to brace for a Russian invasion as tension between the countries soar.
The US President told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an invasion was virtually certain and to 'prepare for impact,'.
He said Ukraine would not be getting significantly more military help, including reiterating that no U.S. troops would be deployed, CNN reported.
The two world leaders spoke on the phone as the Department of Defense issued the warning the same afternoon that a Russian invasion 'could be imminent'.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a press conference: "We continue to see, including in the last 24 hours, more accumulation of credible combat forces arrayed by the Russians in, again, the western part of their country and in Belarus.
"President Biden reaffirmed the readiness of the United States along with its allies and partners to respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine.
"He also underscored the commitment of the United States to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,"
Russian special forces and spies are in Ukraine in “significant” numbers - in the starkest warning of oncoming war, Britain has revealed.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Moscow’s elite forces have advanced across the border ahead of the main force of combat troops.
The Mirror has learned Russia’s GRU military intelligence unit and Spetsnaz crack troops are believed already to be in Ukraine preparing for war.
They are seen as an advance party appearing to plot an attack by 126,000 regular forces gathered at Ukraine’s eastern flank as well as thousands more in Belarus.
It came as British special forces are preparing for a mass evacuation of more than 1,000 British nationals if they become stranded.
They are being told to register with the skeleton embassy left in Kyiv, from where they will be air-evacuated or bussed by road 350 miles east to Poland.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned British troops could soon be sent to eastern Europe to help bolster NATO against Russia.
Mr Wallace told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee there were individuals already in Ukraine “linked to the Russian state in ways that are not conventional” and “that should give cause for concern”.
He added: “We are becoming aware of a significant number of individuals that are assessed to be associated with Russian military advance force operations that currently are located in Ukraine.
“And that is what we expect to see next and what we’re seeing now.”
