President of the United States, Joe Biden, has warned Russia against invading Ukraine, promising severe and swift punishment. 

Mr Biden made his comments over a video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he said that if Russia invaded Ukraine, Washington and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs”, according to the White House.

Mr Biden said that an invasion would “produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing” in the world and though the U.S. was “prepared to engage in diplomacy,” it was also “equally prepared for other scenarios”.

According to the White House, the call between both leaders on Russia’s military presence at the Ukrainian borders ended after an hour and two minutes. 

The phone call brought “no fundamental change” to the worsening crisis, according to a senior U.S. official quoted by The Guardian.

The report noted that both leaders have agreed to stay engaged in the coming days “but Russia may decide to proceed with military action anyway”.

Satellite imagery had shown Russian military deployment in areas surrounding Ukraine: Crimea in the south, around the Russian training camp of Kursk near eastern Ukraine, and in Belarus to Ukraine’s north. 

The conversation with Mr Biden follows speculations as to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration had earlier said it believes Russia could invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics on February 20. 

In what has been described as “peak hysteria” by Moscow, Western countries had begun issuing travel advisories and urging their nationals to leave Ukraine.

The U.S. on Saturday ordered the evacuation of most of its embassy staff in Kyiv amid fears a Russian invasion of Ukraine was increasingly imminent. 

Other countries like the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia and Israel had urged its nationals to vacate the European country ahead of the imminent conflict.