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Biden says he is convinced Putin has decided to invade Ukraine

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he's "very close" to reaching a decision on whether to run for president in 2020, but that his family has given him their blessing if he does.

US President Joe Biden has said he is convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to launch an invasion of Ukraine, and that an assault could happen in the “coming days”.

Mr Biden said the assessment was based on US intelligence, which suggested the capital Kyiv would be targeted.

Russia denies it is planning to invade.

Western nations accuse Russia of trying to stage a fake crisis in breakaway eastern regions of Ukraine to give it a reason to launch an offensive.

The US estimates there are 169,000-190,000 Russian personnel massed in and near Ukraine, a figure that includes Russian-backed fighters in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

In a televised address from the White House, President Biden said the US had “reason to believe” that Russian forces were “planning to and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week, in the coming days”.

“As of this moment I am convinced that he has made the decision,” he added, referring to President Putin. Previously, the president and his top officials have said they did not know whether this was the case.

But, he said, Russia could “still choose diplomacy” and that it was “not too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table”.

Earlier on Friday, in another sign of rising tensions, leaders of the two separatist areas announced an evacuation of residents, saying Ukraine had intensified shelling and was planning an attack.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it is not planning any attack, and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed what he called “Russian disinformation reports”.

-BBC