Biden and Putin to speak as Ukraine tensions rise

U.S. President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will speak on Saturday as Western nations warned a war in Ukraine could ignite at any moment.

Putin requested the telephone call between the leaders to take place on Monday, a White House official said, but Biden wanted to conduct it sooner as Washington detailed increasingly vivid accounts of a possible attack on Ukraine.

Australia and New Zealand on Saturday joined the countries urging their citizens to leave Ukraine, after Washington said a Russian invasion, including a possible air assault, could occur anytime.

Moscow has repeatedly disputed Washington's version of events, saying it has massed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border to maintain its own security against aggression by NATO allies.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed hope that Putin would choose diplomacy but said Washington would impose swift economic sanctions if Moscow invades.

Still, Biden, who will join the weekend call from the mountainside presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, has long believed that one-on-one engagement with Putin may be the best chance at a resolution.