The US President will meet troops stationed near the Ukraine border as he visits Poland today.

President Joe Biden will see the scale of the refugee crisis in Poland first-hand when he visits troops stationed in the town of Rzeszow, near the Ukraine border

Poland has already taken in more than two million people fleeing the Russian invasion and President Biden will meet his Polish counterpart to discuss the humanitarian crisis.

He is expected to thank President Andrzej Duda “for everything the people of Poland are doing”.

Before travelling, he will meet with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels where a summit of EU leaders is continuing.

"Brute"

Brussels also hosted meetings of the G7 and NATO yesterday, during which President Biden labelled Russian President Vladimir Putin a “brute” and warned that NATO would respond “in kind” if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine.

He said the nature of NATO’s response would “depend on the nature of the use”, adding that the bloc would make that decision in its own time.

It comes as NATO continues to bolster its defences in Eastern Europe, with four new battle groups in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia.

Sanctions

Meanwhile, the US, Australia, Japan and Britain have announced increased sanctions on Kremlin allies.

President Biden said the US was aligning its sanctions with the EU.

“We are also announcing new sanctions of more than 400 individuals and entities in alignment with the EU,” he said.

“More than 300 members of the Duma, oligarchs and Russian Defence companies that fuel the Russian war machine.”

"A little late"

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked European leaders for the sanctions they have imposed thus far – but warned they were “a little late” is setting them down.

“If it had been preventive, Russia would not start a war," he told the European Council via video link.

President Zelenskyy did not bring up his demand for a no-fly zone, but instead asked for "1% of all your planes, 1% of all your tanks".

While that request was described as ‘very difficult’ logistically by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, western nations are believed to be considering sending anti-ship weapons amid fears Russia will launch amphibious assaults on Ukraine’s Black Sea Coast.

With reporting from IRN