Meanwhile the Biden administration is reportedly drawing up 'specific sanctions packages' targeting Russian oligarchs and 'eli...
Meanwhile the Biden administration is reportedly drawing up 'specific sanctions packages' targeting Russian oligarchs and 'elites' in the Kremlin's inner circle that would be levied if Moscow invades Ukraine, it was revealed on Monday.
Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the Biden administration of putting out misleading information in order to foment further tensions.
'To our dismay, American media have lately been publishing a very large amount of unverified, distorted and deliberately deceitful information about what's happening in Ukraine and around it,' Peskov said according to multiple media reports.
'Hysteria hyped up by Washington is causing hysteria in Ukraine, almost to the point that people are packing their bags for the front. It's a fact. And this is the reverse side, very harmful side of the campaign which Washington is pursuing now.'
And on Tuesday, State Secretary Antony Blinken is preparing to have a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The Biden administration is reportedly looking at 'specific' sanctions packages targeting Vladimir Putin's cronies after President Biden said he wouldn't rule out sanctioning the Russian leader himself
But behind the scenes, officials are reportedly looking at 'a broad list of individuals' and their families to target with harsh economic penalties if Moscow moves forward, according to the Financial Times.
'Putin's cronies will no longer be able to use their spouses or other family members as proxies to evade sanctions,' senior administration officials told the outlet.
'The individuals we have identified are in or near the inner circles of the Kremlin and play a role in government decision making or are at a minimum complicit in the Kremlin's destabilising behaviour.'
They did not name specific individuals so as not to give the intended targets advance notice, but reportedly chose oligarchs with a significant financial interest in the West.
'Sanctions would cut them off from the international financial system and ensure that they and their family members will no longer be able to enjoy the perks of parking their money in the west and attending elite western universities,' the Biden officials said.
A photograph shows tanks of the 92nd separate mechanized brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces parked in their base near Klugino-Bashkirivka village, in the Kharkiv region on January 31
The tanks have to restore their combat capability after completing a combat mission in war-torn eastern Ukraine
An administration official told CNN that these were considered 'particularly vulnerable targets.'
They said the sanctions being worked out would be 'massive' in scale in order to 'atrophy Russia's ability to pursue its strategic ambitions.'
'The Russian elite should fear the consequences that would befall them should Russia further invade,' the official said.
The Russian elites to be targeted come from 'any sector of the Russian economy as identified by the Secretary of the Treasury' and include some names from a 2018 list of powerful individuals and companies designated by the Trump administration.
The Treasury's 2018 list includes 'seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank' designated by the Treasury under the Trump administration,' according to the Department.
An official reportedly said he sanctions are only part of the broad swath of penalties the US is looking at should Russia invade Ukraine.
President Biden said last week he would not rule out sanctioning Putin personally, as US reports indicate an 'imminent' invasion and the United Kingdom's intelligence pointed to an alleged coup plot by the Russians in Ukraine's capital of Kiev.
Ukrainian servicemen stand next to armored personnel carrier (APC) of the 92nd separate mechanized brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces, parked in their base near Klugino-Bashkirivka village, in the Kharkiv region on January 31
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are joining territorial forces to fight alongside 250,000 regular troops to defend their country
Meanwhile international intelligence reports indicate an invasion by Russia could be 'imminent'
At the same time, federal lawmakers in Congress are preparing to act on their own sanctions package.
In a show of bipartisan unity, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez and ranking member Sen. Jim Risch appeared on CNN together Sunday to discuss a two-tiered approach to punishing Russia.
It would likely include measures to levy sanctions over actions Russia has already taken, such as a massive cyberattack against Ukraine's government that Kiev claims Moscow is responsible for.
They're also looking to potentially send more weapons to Ukraine on top of the lethal and defensive aid already sent.
Russia's threatening posture toward the former Soviet state has accelerated the worsening of relations between Moscow and Washington, now at their lowest point since the Cold War.
Monday will mark the highest-profile attempt by the West to deter Russia through diplomacy, as representatives of the most powerful nations in the world gather in New York.
Previous talks held between Russia and the US and its NATO allies in Europe have so far failed to break ground.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who will be at Monday's meeting, told ABC News in a television interview on Sunday: 'We've made clear that we're prepared to address our concerns, Ukrainian concerns and Russian concerns at the diplomatic table, but it cannot be done on the battlefield.'
Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday accused Nato of trying to pull Kiev into the alliance, despite Russia massing 100,000 troops on Ukraine's borders. Moscow wants Nato to rule out Ukraine ever becoming a member as a condition for its withdrawal.
The head of Russia's security council, Nikolai Patrushev, said talk of a Russian invasion was 'completely ridiculous' and claimed: 'We don't want war and we don't need it at all.'
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are joining territorial forces to fight alongside 250,000 regular troops to defend their country. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said there are 'no plans' to deploy Nato combat troops to Ukraine.
He noted there was 'a difference' between being a full NATO member, with a mutual defense obligation between countries, and a 'strong and highly valued partner' such as Ukraine.
Russia's military buildup near Ukraine has expanded to include supplies of blood along with other medical materials that would allow it to treat casualties, in yet another key indicator of Moscow's military readiness, three US officials told Reuters.
Current and former US officials say concrete indicators -- like blood supplies -- are critical in determining whether Moscow would be prepared to carry out an invasion, if Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to do so.
The Pentagon has previously acknowledged the deployment of 'medical support' as part of Russia's buildup. But the disclosure of blood supplies adds a level of detail that experts say is critical to determining Russian military readiness.
'It doesn't guarantee that there's going to be another attack, but you would not execute another attack unless you have that in hand,' said Ben Hodges, a retired US lieutenant general now with the Center for European Policy Analysis research institute.
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