Ukraine crisis: Tens of thousands of casualties within days of invasion, US warns

Russian battleplans call for an ‘overwhelming intensity of fire’ on Ukraine that could kill ‘tens of thousands’ within the opening days of a conflict, the US has warned, as Putin moves his troops within three miles of the border. 

Tanks, trucks and artillery have been spotted just two and a half miles from Ukrainian territory in Russia’s Belgorod region as new satellite images reveal convoys and troops hiding in civilian areas and the tree-lines of forests in Soloti and Valuyki – a short distance from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region where major military bases are located. 

Diplomacy is continuing despite the threat, though the Kremlin this morning downplayed the possibility of a meeting between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin next week – after the White House said that Biden had agreed ‘in…