Joe warns he will pull the plug on $11N Russian gas pipeline into Germany Nord Stream 2 if Putin invades Ukraine – as he ‘kicks out’ 27 Russian diplomats from DC

  •  ‘I want to be very clear: if Russia invades Ukraine one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward,’ State Dept. spox Ned Price told NPR
  • The State Department asked 24 Russian diplomats to depart Washington and return home on Tuesday, according to the Russian Embassy
  • ‘At the @StateDept request our collegues [sic] were forced to leave earlier than their tenure expired,’ the embassy wrote in a tweet
  • The US is reportedly discussing the deployment of additional troops to countries like Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania but not every NATO member is on board 
  • Russia warns of ‘retaliatory measures’ if U.S. rejects security demands and continues ‘aggressive’ policies
  • ‘If the West continues its aggressive course, Moscow will take the necessary retaliatory measures,’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday 
  • U.S. is prepared to send answers to Russia’s demands on Wednesday, administration officials said
  • Response will outline areas where Washington is willing to work with Moscow, like missile placement, but will fall short of meeting top demands like banning Ukraine and other countries from joining NATOÂ