President Biden says he thinks Russia will invade Ukraine and is warning President Putin that his country will pay a “dear price” if it does. Russia has amassed 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border. Talks in Europe last week failed to ease tensions.
Biden, speaking at a news conference to mark his one-year anniversary in office, also said a “minor incursion” by Russia would elicit a lesser response. He later sought to clarify that he was referring to a non-military action, such as a cyberattack, that would be met with a similar reciprocal response, and that if Russian forces cross the Ukrainian border, killing Ukrainian fighters, “that changes everything.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that the Russians could turn to an “extensive playbook of aggression short of military action, including cyberattacks and paramilitary tactics.” Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said that Biden effectively “gave Putin a green light to invade Ukraine by yammering about the supposed insignificance of a ‘minor incursion.’” “He projected weakness, not strength,” Sasse said.If Russia invades, Biden said that one action under consideration was limiting Russian transactions in U.S. financial institutions, including “anything that involves dollar denominations.
Russian military activity has been increasing in recent weeks, but the U.S. has not concluded whether Putin plans to invade or whether the show of force is intended to squeeze the security concessions without an actual conflict. The U.S. and its allies have said the Russian demands are non-starters, that Russia knows they are and that Putin is using them in part to create a pretext for invading Ukraine, which has strong ethnic and historical ties to Russia. The former Soviet republic aspires to join the alliance, though has little hope of doing so in the foreseeable future.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
US predicts Russia's incursion into Ukraine as tensions soarRussia will likely be able to prevail over time against the weaker Ukrainian military, US President Biden says, but warns the cost of invading Ukraine is 'going to be heavy' for Russians
Read more »
Biden: 'My guess is' Putin will invade UkraineDespite his prediction, Biden said he still believes that Putin does not want a cold war, standing by the statement he made following a meeting with the Russian leader in Geneva back in June.
Read more »
Biden Says He Thinks Putin Will Order Invasion of Ukraine, Vows ‘Disaster for Russia'“My guess is [Putin] will move in, he has to do something,” Biden said when asked about the more than 100,000 Russian troops positioned along Ukraine’s border.
Read more »
‘You Know, If I Were You, I’d Go After Finland,’ Says Biden Trying To Dissuade Putin From Invading UkraineWASHINGTON—In an effort to dissuade the Russian leader from invading Ukraine, President Joe Biden reportedly told Vladimir Putin Wednesday, “You know, if I were you, I’d go after Finland.” “Ukraine’s cool and everything, but Finland has, like, an eighth of the people and twice the GDP—it’d be a breeze to annex,…
Read more »
U.S. boosts military aid to Ukraine as Russia tensions soarAs U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits, Ukraine the Biden administration says it's providing an additional $200 million in defensive military aid to the country amid soaring fears of a Russian invasion.
Read more »
U.S.'s Blinken to visit Ukraine following Russia talksU.S. President Joe Biden's top diplomat will visit Kyiv this week after talks with Russia ended in a stalemate last week amid concerns in Washington that Moscow is preparing to invade Ukraine.
Read more »