President Joe Biden has said on Thursday, February 17, 2022, that he expects Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to go through with an invasion of Ukraine within days.
“My sense is this will happen in the next several days,” Biden told the media.
Biden told reporters the threat of an invasion is “very high,” pointing out the real situation on Ukraine borders.
“They have not moved any of their troops out. They have moved more troops in. We have reason to believe that they are engaged in a false flag operation, to have an excuse to go in. Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine and attack Ukraine.”
US President, Joe Biden
A senior administration official, on Wednesday evening (February 16, 2022) said the Kremlin had added about 7,000 troops near the Ukraine border in recent days, “with some arriving as recently as today,” placing the number of Russian forces near Ukraine above the 150,000 figure cited by Biden in an address to the nation on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.
At the same time, Biden repeated there is still a path to diplomacy but said he has no plans to hold a call with Mr. Putin.
Even as Russia has delivered its written response on Thursday, February 17, 2022, to US and NATO over proposals for talks, a senior administration official dismissed Russia’s diplomacy as disingenuous to reporters in an earlier call.
“Every indication we have now is that they mean only to pretend to engage in diplomacy, where they publicly offer to talk and make claims about de-escalation, while privately mobilizing for war,” the senior official said.
For days now, the Kremlin has claimed to be pulling back Russian forces after completing military “exercises,” but US security analysts say it appears Russian troops are rotating in and growing in number, with the ability to invade Ukraine at any point. Russian leaders, meanwhile, have accused the West of creating “hysteria” over the situation at Ukraine’s border.
NATO secretary-general on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, said the buildup of Russian forces has prompted the biggest concentration of troops in Europe since the Cold War in 1947.
Biden warned Putin in remarks from the White House earlier this week that if Russia invades Ukraine, the US is prepared to respond decisively and in unison with NATO allies.
“If Russia attacks Ukraine, it will be met with overwhelming international condemnation. The world will not forget that Russia chose needless death and destruction. Invading Ukraine will prove to be a self-inflicted wound. The United States and our allies and partners will respond decisively. The West is united and galvanized.”
US President, Joe Biden
President Joe Biden, in his quest to explain US involvement in the region, told the American people, “this is about more than just Russia and Ukraine.”
“It’s about standing for what we believe in, for the future that we want for our world, for liberty, for liberty, the right of countless countries to choose their own destiny. And the right of people to determine their own futures or the principle that a country can’t change its neighbour’s borders by force.”
US President, Joe Biden
Biden added that “If we do not stand for freedom where it is at risk today, we’ll surely pay a steeper price tomorrow.”
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