Ukraine crisis on the brink: Russia says it caught US submarine in its waters and 'drove it out' while blasting Western 'provocation' as Biden holds phone call with Putin and airlines stop flights to Kiev – hours after invasion warning
An intelligence report warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to invade Ukraine on Wednesday
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on a call to Russian diplomat Sergei Lavrov to discuss crisis
This was followed by a called between Biden and Putin, who also spoke to France's Macron earlier in the day
Russian military reported it had caught a US submarine near the Pacific Kuril islands during naval drills
It comes as he launched military drills in Belarus on Saturday, alongside a major sea drill in the Black Sea
Growing list of countries urge citizens to leave Ukraine, including Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Belgium
Many embassies in Kiev, including UK and US, will operate skeleton crews as majority of staff told to evacuate
By Laurence Dollimore and Chris Jewers and Nick Craven In Kiev For Mailonline
Published: 12:44 EST, 12 February 2022 | Updated: 13:39 EST, 12 February 2022
The Russian military said today it caught a US submarine in its far-east waters and drove it out with 'appropriate means' after the vessel ignored a Russian request to leave, Interfax news agency has reported.
The encounter came as Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden held a high-stakes phone call, as a tense world watched and worried that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin as soon as Wednesday.
Biden warned his Kremlin counterpart that the United States 'will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia' should it invade Ukraine, but the call brought no major change in the standoff over Russian troops massing near Ukraine, a senior US official said.
According to a readout from the White House, Biden stressed that 'while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our Allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios.'
Kremlin officials have blasted the US, calling the warnings 'provocation'. Meanwhile, Dutch airline KLM announced that it had suspended flights to Ukraine following a 'red alert' travel advisory placed on the country.
Citing the Russian defence ministry, Interfax reported that the US submarine was detected near the Pacific Kuril islands as Russia conducted naval exercises with its Pacific Fleet. It was ordered to surface immediately.
It said the order was ignored by the U.S. submarine's crew, leading the crew of Russia's Marshal Shaposhnikov frigate to use unspecified 'corresponding means' to make the vessel leave.
'The U.S. submarine ... left Russian territorial waters at maximum speed,' the defence ministry was quoted as saying. The Russian ministry called in the U.S. defence attache after complaining that the submarine had entered its waters, the RIA news agency reported.
'We are aware of press reporting about an alleged naval incident in the Pacific. We cannot confirm the details of these reports at this time,' said a Pentagon spokesman.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she spoke to US secretary of state Antony Blinken on Saturday, and shared her 'acute concerns' that Russia could launch further military aggression against Ukraine within days.
more
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10505885/Ukraine-crisis-brink-Russia-says-caught-submarine-waters-drove-out.html
