Kamala threatens Putin with 'significant and unprecedented' consequences if Russia invades Ukraine as US warns his 160,000 troops are 'poised to strike' and 700,000 people are evacuated

 Vice President Kamala Harris publicly warned Vladimir Putin of the 'swift and severe' consequences he will face if Russia further invades Ukraine and branded him a 'lying propagandist' after a car bomb destroyed a pipeline forcing the evacuation of  700,000.   

In a speech early Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, Harris said the United States and its allies were prepared to impose significant and unprecedented economic costs on Russia if it further invades Ukraine, Reuters reported. 

'Let me be clear, I can say with absolute certainty, if Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States together with our allies and partners will impose significant and unprecedented economic costs,' Harris said at the annual conference of the world's top national security officials.

She was pictured next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the event, alongside other leaders. The Vice President and her fellow lawmakers were all masked-up, even though she has been fully-vaccinated and boosted against COVID.  

On Saturday Vice President Kamala Harris (pictured) said the US and its allies has tried to engage with Russia to find diplomatic solution but their effort have not been met by the Kremlin in good faith

In a speech at the Munich Security Conference, Harris said the United States and its allies were prepared to impose significant and unprecedented economic costs on Russia if it further invades Ukraine

The Vice President said the US and its allies has tried to engage with Russia to find diplomatic solution but their effort have not been met by the Kremlin in good faith.

'Russia continues to say it is ready to talk while at the same time it narrows the avenues for diplomacy,' Harris said. 'Their actions simply do not match their words.' 

Harris also accused Putin of feigning 'ignorance and innocence' as he works on  fabricating a false pretext for invading Ukraine, CNN reported. 

She was likely referring to two recent bombing attacks over the last day, which the US has accused the Kremlin of staging to give Putin a pretext for war. 

On Friday a gas pipeline near Luhansk in eastern Ukraine caught fire after being blown up, a Ukrainian gas official said.

The pipeline was struck by 'a powerful explosion'  which cut off nearly 100 households from the gas supply, Interfax news agency reported, citing a local natural gas supplier.

Tatiana Bogorodko, head of Luhanskgas, was quoted by Interfax as saying that the pipeline blast was caused by sabotage. She did not elaborate further. 

Between 160,000 and 190,000 Russian troops are now estimated to be stationed at the Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian citizens - including the elderly - have been pictured receiving combat training in recent days. And around 700,000 people have been evacuated from eastern Ukraine into Russia by pro-Putin separatists in anticipation of the conflict kicking-off. 

The Vice President said that the Russian aggression playbook is 'too familiar to us all.'

'We now receive reports of what appears to be provocations and we see Russia spreading disinformation, lies and propaganda. Nonetheless, in a deliberate and coordinated effort, we together are one, exposing the truth and two, speaking with a unified voice,' Harris said.

'We have prepared economic measures that will be swift, severe, and united,' she added. 'We will target Russia's financial institutions and key industries, and we will target those who are complicit and those who aide and abet this unprovoked invasion.'

The United States will not stop with economic measures, but will further reinforce the eastern flank of NATO, Harris said at the conference.  

Her speech came a day after Russia appeared to step up its preparations for war. 

A car bomb exploded late Friday near the headquarters of the pro-Russian Donetsk People's Republic, destroying a Soviet-era UAZ jeep that belonged to Denis Sinenkov, head of regional security. He was not reported to be injured.

Russian state media were the first to report on the explosion and picture the bomb site, with a notorious Russian 'journalist' - thought to be a state propagandist - among the first to arrive on the scene. 

President Joe Biden on Friday said for the first time that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin had made up his mind to launch an invasion of Ukraine. He spoke after a day of high drama, that included two explosions in pro-Russia rebel territory

Late on Friday night, the president tweeted that he had hoped by revealing Russia's 'plans' war could be averted.

Just an hour before the blast, the pro-Russian heads of the People's Republic of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic ordered women, children and the elderly to evacuate immediately ahead of what they claimed would be a Ukrainian invasion. They said they were evacuating 700,000 people.

Kiev categorically denied any plans to attack.   

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that reported evacuations in Eastern Ukraine and a car bombing in the city of Donetsk 'are further attempts to obscure through lies and disinformation that Russia is the aggressor in this conflict.'

They went on to say it was 'cynical and cruel to use human beings as pawns to distract the world from the fact that Russia is building up its forces in preparation for an attack.' 

A series of satellite pictures captured Monday appeared to show the Russian military amassing ground forces, troop tents and even a field hospital close to the Ukraine border. Airfields within half an hour's flying time of Ukraine also show runways full of aircraft consisting of both helicopters and ground attack aircraft.

Infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and support equipment could be seen parked up at a military base in Filativka, 27 miles away from the Ukraine border and a base at Novoozernoye in Crimea, 100 miles from the border.

Another image appeared to depict helicopter and su25 aircraft deployments, in Millerovo, Russia, some 20 miles away from the Ukrainian border. 

Pro-Russian rebels began evacuating civilians from their territory in Eastern Ukraine.

Hours after the operation began, a car bomb exploded in their capital Donetsk, followed by a second explosion later in the evening in Luhansk - triggering warnings that these might be the 'false flag' operations that would precede an invasion.

Latest U.S. assessments say there are now 190,000 Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border. 

That includes a battle group deployment of tanks, personnel carriers and support equipment at Millerovo Airfield, 16 miles from the Ukraine border, according to new satellite photos.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and U.K. both said Russia was behind a distributed denial of service attack that knocked Ukrainian banking and government websites offline. 

Taken together, the events track with what officials said amounted to Russia's invasion playbook. 

On Friday night president Joe Biden tweeted that he hoped war could be averted between Russia and Ukraine, and that the goal of revealing Russia's 'plans' was to prevent war from becoming a likely option. 

'We're calling out Russia's plans. Not because we want a conflict, but because we are doing everything in our power to remove an.y reason Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine. 

'If Russia pursues its plans, it will be responsible for a catastrophic and needless war of choice,' he wrote. 

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said it had recorded 12 ceasefire violations by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine on Saturday morning after 66 cases over the previous 24 hours.

Separatists opened fire on more than 20 settlements, using heavy artillery, which have been prohibited by Minsk agreements, the military said on its Facebook page. 

A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilization amid growing invasion fears.

Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russian separatist government in the Donetsk region, released a statement on Saturday announcing a full troop mobilization and urging reservists to show up at military enlistment offices.

Earlier on Friday, however, Biden said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin had already made up his mind to invade Ukraine.

He delivered his verdict at the end of an intense week of diplomacy and amid reports of explosions in territory held by pro-Russian separatists that officials believe could be false-flag attacks and a precursor to an invasion. Pro-Russian rebels accused Ukrainian forces of blowing up a gas pipeline hours after a car bomb hit Donetsk.

After delivering an update on the crisis, Biden was asked if Putin had decided. 

'As of this moment, I'm convinced he's made the decision,' he told reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon. 'We have reason to believe that.' 

He said it was based on Washington's 'significant intelligence capability.' But he insisted Putin could change course if he wanted to.

'Russia can still choose diplomacy,' he said. 'It is not too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table.'  

A satellite image provided by Maxar shows a battalion-sized unit in a convoy near Filativka training area, Crimea February 15, 2022. The base is just 27 miles from the Ukraine border. Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. The action was widely condemned under international law, and the territory remains disputed

In this Friday image, satellite pictures provided by Maxar Technologies shows ground forces units, troop tents and a field hospital remain deployed at Novoozernoye, Crimea, 100 miles from the Ukraine border. Tanks, armored personnel carriers (APC), infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and support equipment also remain parked in maneuver/convoy position in the area

In satellite imagery provided by Maxar Technologies shows a closer view of s400 air defense units at Luminets Airfield in Belarus, pictured on Friday. The base is 220 miles from the Ukraine border, or about half an hour's flying time

A satellite image shows new helicopter deployments near Lake Donuzlav in Crimea, 160 miles from the Ukraine border

A satellite image shows su25 ground attack aircraft, at Luninets air field in Belarus, February 14, 2022

A satellite image shows an overview of a helicopter deployments near Lake Donuzlav, in Crimea, Ukraine, pictured Friday

A satellite image shows new helicopter and su25 aircraft deployments, in Millerovo, Russia, seen on Friday. The base is 20 miles away from the Ukrainian border

A satellite image shows su25 aircraft deployments, in Millerovo, Russia on February 15. The base is 20 miles away from the Ukrainian border

This Maxar satellite image taken on Tuesday released on Friday shows battle group deployment and troop tents at Valuyki, Russia, approximately 20 miles east of the border with Ukraine. - US President Joe Biden said on February 18 that he believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin has already decided to invade Ukraine and that the attack could begin 'in the coming days'

This Maxar satellite image taken on February 13, 2022 and released on February 18, 2022 shows a helicopter unit and troops in Belgorod, Russia, approximately 25 miles east of the border with Ukraine

A satellite image shows new helicopter deployment, at Lida airfield in Belarus, 160 miles from the Ukraine border. The picture was taken on Wednesday 

Biden responded by dismissing the mounting volume of propaganda coming from Russia and its separatist rebels, saying there was no truth to reports of a genocide unfolding in the Donbass - the disputed area of East Ukraine - or that Ukrainian troops had shelled a kindergarten.

Biden called out reports of a Ukrainian genocide and that its troops had shelled a kindergarten as propaganda. 

'We also continue to see more and more disinformation being pushed out to the Russian public, including Russian-backed separatists claiming that Ukraine is planning to launch a massive offensive attack in the Donbass,' he said.

'Well, look, there is simply no evidence to these assertions and it defies basic logic to believe the Ukrainians would choose this moment, with well over 150,000 troops arrayed on his borders to escalate a year-long conflict.'