With the threat of a Russian-led war only growing, it's a race against time to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis, as Ukrainian forces brace for the worst.
In a roughly hour-long phone call, the White House said Biden made clear to Putin what he would be risking with an invasion. A senior administration official told reporters following the call that the discussion was substantive but the US fears Russia may still launch a military attack anyway.
The call between the two leaders comes hours after the US moved some of its forces out of Ukraine and ordered the evacuation of most of its embassy staff on Saturday as fears mount that a Russian invasion of the country could take place in the next few days.
The moves were yet another sign that the US fears Putin could order an invasion at any time, just one day after Biden's national security adviser warned Americans in Ukraine to leave and that military action could begin with an aerial bombardment that could kill civilians.
Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov described the call Saturday as "balanced and businesslike," but said the US and NATO had failed to address Russia's main security concerns.
According to Ushakov, Biden told Putin he was "committed to the diplomatic path and had laid out a range of considerations that he sees as addressing many of Russia's concerns."
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had on Friday accused Western countries and the press of spreading a "large-scale disinformation campaign" about an allegedly impending Russian invasion of Ukraine "in order to divert attention from their own aggressive actions."
Several countries are calling for their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. Embassies in Kyiv are removing all nonessential staff and dependents and a core team will remain to continue with essential duties.
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