Amid code black warning, Biden and Putin to speak today

In the midst of a Code Black warning that a Russian invasion of Ukraine might happen in days if not hours, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak on the phone Saturday morning.

After the end of the Cold War in the 1960s, when the US and the former USSR avoided nuclear war, such war clouds have never existed between two superpowers. The alarm is so high that the White House is urging Americans to leave Ukraine within the next 24-48 hours, warning that they will not be allowed to leave if Russia invades, which, based on the crescendo of sirens, Washington believes is unavoidable.

Travel advisor from the US said US citizens in Ukraine should be aware that the US government will not be able to evacuate US citizens in the event of Russian military action anywhere in Ukraine. Military action may commence at any time and without warning…” 

"In light of multiple countries ordering their citizens to evacuate Ukraine immediately, and the announcement tonight that US intel believes Russia will invade in the coming week, we are now moving to our highest alert level: Code Black, for Ukraine," A global intelligence community organization, the International Centre for Strategic Intelligence, tweeted.

Ukraine, which has repeatedly requested Washington not to raise unwarranted worry despite the fact that the situation in Kyiv is said to be normal, does not share the US alarm. However, the intensity with which Washington and Moscow communicated signaled a serious situation.

Russia suggested a phone call between the two leaders on Monday, but "the White House counter-proposed Saturday, and they accepted," according to a White House pool report.

"US officials anticipate a horrific, bloody campaign that begins with two days or aerial bombardment and electronic warfare, followed by an invasion, with the possible goal of regime change," Nick Schifrin, a foreign affairs and defense correspondent for PBS Newshour who has previously worked in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East, tweeted

The tweet was responded with a barrage of scathing retweets:

"Isn't that what the US has been doing for the last - say - 76 years??? That is standard operation for the US military!"

"I'm sorry, this is not being corroborated or reported literally anywhere else. It is likely you are a player in a disinformation campaign designed to force someone's hand."

"Forgive me, but ever since they pulled a kind of false flag about WMDs in Iraq, to me, everything they say sounds fishy to me. I could be way wrong, of course, but I hope the media will be keeping both eyes open as things progress.

Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, asked Americans to leave Ukraine within the next 24 to 48 hours. According to him, in the event of a military escalation, the Americans remaining in Ukraine would be unable to leave because the president would not risk the military by sending them to the battle zone to rescue people who had fled.

Russia could strike Ukraine during the Olympics, he said.

“There is no possibility of evacuation by the army in the event of a Russian invasion,” he said. “If you stay, you take a risk, without any guarantee that there will be any other chance of leaving.”

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