Biden warns Putin that if Russia invades Ukraine, the US will impose ‘rapid and severe costs.’
In a phone call Saturday, President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that an invasion of Ukraine would result in “swift and severe costs” for Russia, as well as “widespread human suffering,” with Western officials warning that Russian forces encircling Ukraine appear poised to launch an attack at any time.
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According to the White House, Biden cautioned Putin in an hour-long phone chat that if Russia expands its intrusion into Ukraine, the US and its allies will “act decisively.”
Biden stated that the United States is prepared to continue on a diplomatic road to resolve the problem, but that the United States and its allies are also “equally prepared for other possibilities.”
Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin foreign policy advisor, told reporters During the discussion, Biden presented measures to fulfill Putin’s security demands, which Putin indicated he would study, but Ushakov said they did not address “the essential, key parts of Russian aspirations.”
Prior to Biden and Putin’s call, French President Emmanuel Macron told Putin by phone that sincere negotiations were not compatible with the escalating tensions, the Guardian reports.
Russia has gathered some 130,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, and US officials have warned that Russia may invade after staging a bogus Ukrainian offensive. On Friday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan advised all Americans to leave Ukraine immediately, claiming that Russian forces were poised to “launch a significant military action… any day now.” On Saturday, the State Department ordered the departure of the majority of embassy workers from the US embassy in Kyiv. Following the United Kingdom’s decision to remove roughly 130 training personnel, the Pentagon announced the withdrawal of 160 military trainers from Ukraine. Putin has asked that NATO not allow Ukraine to join the alliance, a demand that the US and other NATO members have refused.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday morning, reiterating that a diplomatic path to resolution remained open, but warning that an invasion of Ukraine would “result in a resolute, massive, and united Transatlantic response,” according to a State Department readout of the call.
