NEW: 'Happy Valentine's Day,' Pres. Biden says as reporters shout questions about standoff with Russia over Ukraine.
According to a White House official, the call between Biden and Zelensky, who last spoke at the end of January, lasted 51 minutes, a shorter call than Biden's discussion with Putin on Saturday, which lasted just over an hour.Rocket launchers fire during the Allied Resolve 2022 joint military drills by Belarusian and Russian troops min Belarus, Feb. 12, 2022.
A senior administration official, speaking with reporters following the Saturday call with Putin, said the tone was"professional and substantive," however,"there was no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks."Since Friday, the Biden administration has ramped up its warnings about a possible Russian attack on Ukraine -- which they say could happen as soon as this week.
"We have seen, over the course of the past 10 days, dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces and the disposition of those forces in such a way that they could launch a military action essentially at any time," National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on CBS on Sunday."They could do so this coming week."US President Joe Biden meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Sept. 1, 2021.
Despite the warnings, Zelensky has continued to call for calm in the country and seemed to express frustration with the dire tone. "The best friend of our enemy is panic in our country, and all that information which helps create only panic doesn't help us," Zelensky said Saturday.
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