additional weapons. why do you deny there is troop buildup. putting out information and change the tone after the meeting? so i m not going to characterize the decision-making of the ukrainian government only to say is that we are in daily contact with senior officials in the ukrainian government. i am if nearly daily contact with my counterpart in the ukrainian government. we believe we are seeing a common threat picture here and our message to our friends in the ukrainian government and as our message was today to president putin is that the united states supports the minsk process, wants to see progress made towards a cease-fire and confidence measures. that is the best way forward. yeah. is the world safer today after that conversation between the two leaders or less safe? and i have a follow-up to your answer. so all i will say is that the
presidency to date. in a couple hours, the president will speak to vladimir putin about the russian troop buildup on ukraine s border that could approach 175,000 troops by next month, with plans, u.s. intelligence says, to invade ukraine. cnn s matthew chance has been doing some of the most important reporting on the ground in ukraine. math yathew joins us now. what is the very latest? reporter: well, the latest is that the expectations are out there for what this call is going to involve. it is taking place in about, i think, three hours from now. the kremlin already played down expectations, saying don t expect a breakthrough when it comes to this video conference call with u.s. president biden. but the russians have also s spelled out clearly what it is they want. what they ve said is they want an ironclad guarantee, a legal guarantee, that ukraine, the
i live in constant contact with our allies in europe. with the ukrainians. analysts expect that they will confront russia with sanctions and not a full wore around its border. though, in the past, sanctions have done little to change putin s actions. fears of war are growing in ukraine. back in april, during and other russian troop buildup, we were with ukrainian troops who were carefully monitoring russians on the other side. what are you looking at through this periscope? it s an enemy. tonight, putin may be bluffing. he does not want ukraine to join nato. and he does not want nato to put advanced weapon systems into the country. perhaps it is just saber rattling. either way, the sorts are drawn. president biden and putin will have a video call tomorrow. u.s. officials say that russia has been sending troops to the border, but also pulling them back to keep the world guessing
ukrainian troops are posted less than 100 yards from russia-backed militias. tonight, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff also calling this troop buildup near ukraine, quote, serious. abc s cecilia vega asking the white house, could american troops be involved in any of this? reporter: the high stakes secure video call lasted more than two hours. president biden in the situation room, flanked by top advisers, including the secretary of state. good to see you again. reporter: the kremlin releasing this video of vladimir putin joining alone from his residence in sochi. when it was over, national security adviser jake sullivan calling the meeting useful, saying president biden delivered a clear message, do not invade ukraine or else. there was no finger wagging, but the president was crystal clear about where the united states stands on all of these issues. reporter: the white house threatening strong economic measures, saying the u.s. is also prepared to send more weapons
on this frozen landscape in eastern ukraine. with russian-backed rebels on one side and ukrainian troops on the other. this is the front line. the skarps from this conflict are everywhere across eastern ukraine. although there s supposed to be a peace agreement here, artillery shells are being swapped by both sides and every few minutes, we hear the sound of small arms fire. today, as many as 100,000 russian combat troops are thought to be massed on the border near here. the u.s. fearing they could be preparing for full-scale military assault into ukraine. the white house has been saying for days that russia is planning to invade.pthe kremlin denies te troop buildup is very, very real. so, we re being told that when the president speaks to vladimir putin tomorrow, his message is going to be tough, not finger wagging, but it s going to be crystal clear. don t go there. david? all right, ian pannell and our team from inside ukraine tonight. thank you.