Putin plots war plans that could see him invade Ukraine TODAY after Bond Villain-style meeting with his henchmen

VLADIMIR Putin has been plotting war plans that could see him invade Ukraine TODAY after a Bond Villain-style meeting with his henchmen. The Russian president has vowed to decide “today” whether to recognise the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine – a step that would further inflame a tense standoff with the West and Kyiv. ReutersPutin held a session with his Security Council today[/caption] APIt’s feared the Russian president is on the brink of invading Ukraine[/caption] Putin made the remark at the end of a dramatic session of his Security Council that was broadcast on television after the heads of two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine appealed to the Kremlin leader to recognise their independence. “A decision will be taken today,” Putin said. Should Putin recognise the Russian-controlled territories as independent states – which broke away from Kyiv’s control in 2014 – it would scupper the existing peace agreement and possibly trigger fresh sanctions from the West. During the meeting today, the leader’s top advisers delivered speeches in favour of the move at an unscheduled Kremlin security council meeting. “We’ve been negotiating for eight years. We’re at a dead end,” Putin told his aides. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned Putin’s remarks that Russia could recognise two Kremlin-backed breakaway Ukrainian regions as independent, his office said on Monday. Most read in The Sun FRANKLY WILD Brits told ‘DON'T travel today’ as 400 homes evacuated in 87mph Storm Franklin 'unimaginable loss' Jamal Edwards' mum Brenda reveals he died from 'a sudden illness' DJ DEAD Rita Ora leads tributes as music mogul who helped launch Ed Sheeran dies aged 31 JACK-POT Wilshere will NOT be highest-paid player at Danish club AGF with wages revealed MYSTERY SHOPPER I bought a £91 Amazon returns box - I’m obsessed with my new branded bag ON THIN ICE Inside Dancing on Ice 'fix' row as stars' dance backgrounds revealed His office said in a statement that he also told Putin during a phone call that any such move would amount to a “one-sided breach” of the Minsk agreements designed to end a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. Scholz also urged Putin to pull Russian troops from Ukraine’s border and deescalate the situation in eastern Ukraine. Read our Russia Ukraine live blog for the latest updates His office said he would consult with Ukrainian and French leaders about the situation in Ukraine.  According to US intelligence, Russia has now massed a force of between 169,000-190,000 troops in the region, including pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, and could invade within days. Recognition of the rebel-held areas in the east could provide a pretext for Russian troops to cross the border into those areas. Russia denies any plan to attack its neighbour but has threatened unspecified “military-technical” action unless it receives sweeping security guarantees, including a promise that Ukraine will never join NATO. Recognition by Moscow of the rebel regions’ independence would further narrow the diplomatic options to avoid war, since it would be an explicit rejection of a seven-year-old ceasefire mediated by France and Germany, still touted as the framework for any future negotiations on the wider crisis. It comes as Russia has moved ‘Terminator’ tanks to just two miles from the Ukrainian border, new video shows. The move is the latest firepower being massed by Putin and it comes as the US has warned “tens of thousands” could die in the days following an invasion. Footage shows convoys of Russian military hardware, including missiles and tanks, being moved to the Belgorod border region. Terminator tanks, which are bristling with weapons and designed for fighting in cities, are seen in a video for the first time heading towards the border on a train. They are capable of hitting lightly-armoured enemy vehicles, other tanks and even helicopters and low-flying aircraft. The short-range all-weather Tor air defence system was visible, while a Russian mobile military hospital is seen in Shebekino, near the frontier. East2WestFootage shows Terminator tanks being moved towards the Ukrainian border[/caption]