Biden meets with NATO leaders from 30 counties as Russia enters Kyiv

President Joe Biden will meet virtually with fellow NATO members on Friday morning to reassure eastern allies they will be protected as Russian troops prepare to enter Kyiv.

U.S. intelligence officials are worried the Ukrainian capitol could fall within days, CNN reported, as Russian forces are within 20 miles of its location and residents are being urged to make Molotov cocktails to help defend the city. 

Amid reports the Kremlin is gunning for him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone. 

‘Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone,’ he said. ‘Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.’ 

‘We’re defending our country alone. The most powerful forces in the world are watching this from a distance,’ Zelensky said. 

President Joe Biden will meet virtually with fellow NATO members on Friday morning to reassure eastern allies they will be protected

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone

Ukrainian national guard were forming up on Kyiv's streets Friday as they prepared to defend the city from a Russian assault, shortly before heavy gunfire and explosions were heard

Ukrainian national guard were forming up on Kyiv’s streets Friday as they prepared to defend the city from a Russian assault, shortly before heavy gunfire and explosions were heard

A brave Ukrainian citizen has been filmed apparently trying to stop a convoy of Russian Tigr-M fighting vehicles - similar to American Humvees - moving along a highway close to Crimea in scenes reminiscent of Tiananmen Square's 'tank man'

A brave Ukrainian citizen has been filmed apparently trying to stop a convoy of Russian Tigr-M fighting vehicles – similar to American Humvees – moving along a highway close to Crimea in scenes reminiscent of Tiananmen Square’s ‘tank man’

Russian battle plans to take Kyiv and force an early end to the war in Ukraine have been revealed by US intelligence, who say troops and armour would be used to capture airfields, before a force of 10,000 paratroopers would be flown in to capture the city, round up the government, and force them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia

Russian battle plans to take Kyiv and force an early end to the war in Ukraine have been revealed by US intelligence, who say troops and armour would be used to capture airfields, before a force of 10,000 paratroopers would be flown in to capture the city, round up the government, and force them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia

President Joe Biden (upper left) participates in the NATO meeting

President Joe Biden (upper left) participates in the NATO meeting

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg convenes leaders for a virtual summit

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg convenes leaders for a virtual summit

A general view of a meeting room during a virtual summit called in by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium

A general view of a meeting room during a virtual summit called in by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium

Meanwhile, the Kremlin offered to send a delegation to Belarus to negotiate with Ukraine but only under harsh conditions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was ready to send a delegation to Minsk. But Peskovmade it clear that Russia expected Ukraine’s ‘denazification and demilitarization’ of Ukraine, meaning Kyiv’s capitulation. 

As fighting continues across the Ukraine, Biden will start his Friday in a virtual meeting with the 30 members of NATO, who are concerned about Russian aggression on their eastern flank. Some of NATO’s 30 member countries are supplying arms and support to Ukraine, but NATO as an organization isn’t. 

‘Make no mistake, we will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory,’ NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who will chair the summit, told reporters Thursday. ‘An attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance.’ 

During the meeting, the leaders are likely to consider whether to activate the NATO Response Force, which can number up to 40,000 troops.  A quickly deployable land brigade that is part of the NRF – made up of 5,000 troops and run by France alongside Germany, Poland, Portugal and Spain – is already on heightened alert.

Some NATO nations are already taking defensive measures as Russian aggression grows.

Lithuania declared a state of emergency Thursday after Russian President Vladimir  Putin ordered troops into Ukraine. Lithuania borders Russia´s Kaliningrad region to the southwest. NATO members Belarus is to the east, Latvia is to the north and Poland is to the south.

‘We cannot take the luxury to be (a) discussion club,’ Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said overnight at an emergency summit of European Union leaders held to impose a ‘heavy price’ on Russia through sanctions. ‘We need to take action.’  

The Baltic members have said the West should ‘urgently provide Ukrainian people with weapons, ammunition and any other kind of military support to defend itself as well as economic, financial and political assistance and support, humanitarian aid.’

NATO began beefing up its defenses in northeastern Europe after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Recently, some members have also sent troops, aircraft and warships to the Black Sea region, near allies Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

Short-term, NATO has activated an emergency planning system to allow commanders to move forces more quickly. The Pentagon said Thursday that it is sending 7,000 troops to Europe in addition to 5,000 recently deployed personnel.

Independence Square in central Kyiv, Ukraine

Independence Square in central Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers take positions in downtown Kyiv

Ukrainian soldiers take positions in downtown Kyiv

Servicemen of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv

Servicemen of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv

Additionally, pressure is building on Biden to personally sanction Putin. The U.S. has already sanctioned several members of Putin’s inner circle and many Russian oligarchs who made their money off his regime. 

Biden said Thursday that sanctioning the Russian leader remained ‘on the table’ but refused to answer a question on why Putin has not yet been personally targeted.  

The European Union will freeze Putin’s assets and those of the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, but will not impose a travel ban on them, the New York Times reported. 

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