President Biden warned Putin that the United States and its allies are ready to impose rapid and severe costs on Russia.
Courtesy: The White House
Washington – President Joe Biden A meeting of the National Security Council is being held on Sunday amid a rapid deterioration in the security situation in Ukraine.
In a statement Saturday night, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president receives regular updates on events on the ground, adding that the national security team “confirmed that Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine at any time.”
In a speech on Friday, Biden said the United States believes that the Russian president Russian President Vladimir Putin I decided to launch an attack on Ukraine “in the coming days. “
“We have reason to believe that Russian forces are planning and intending to attack Ukraine next week, in the coming days,” Biden said in his second speech last week. “We believe they will target the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, a city of 2.8 million innocent people,” he added.
The Biden administration has previously refused to expect Putin’s evidence even as Russia has deployed nearly half of its military to Ukraine’s northern and eastern flank.
The Kremlin has denied that more than 150,000 Russian soldiers equipped with advanced military equipment along Ukraine’s borders are preparing for an invasion.
When asked, Biden said there was still time for Putin to choose the path of diplomacy.
On Sunday, the country’s top diplomat stressed that the United States and its allies hope to find a solution to this crisis that does not develop into a war.
“Until the tanks and planes are rolled into the air, we will try everything we can to get President Putin to reverse the decision we think he made,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said during an interview with NBC News’ Sunday news programme. “Meet the press.”
“Until the last minute, he still has a choice to withdraw,” Blinkin said, adding that he was scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, next week.
Service personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces drive a tank during military exercises in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, February 10, 2022.
Vyacheslav Madyevsky | Reuters
Last week, Blinken made a dramatic appearance at the United Nations to share a grim assessment of what Russian forces would do to Ukraine if the Kremlin launched a surprise attack.
“Russian missiles and bombs will fall through Ukraine. Communications will be disrupted, and cyber-attacks will shut down key Ukrainian institutions. After that, Russian tanks and soldiers will advance on key targets that have already been identified and drawn up in detailed plans,” he said. before the UN Security Council.
Last month, the Chairman of the US Army’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, told reporters at the Pentagon that Russia’s position along the Ukrainian border was Unlike anything he had seen during his four-decade military career.
He said the Russians have deployed air force, navy, special forces, cyber electronic warfare, command and control, logistical engineers and other capabilities along the Ukrainian border.
“Looking at the kind of forces deployed, the maneuvering ground forces, the artillery, the ballistic missiles, the air force, it’s all grouped together. If that were fired at Ukraine, it would be significant, very significant, and the casualties would be significant,” Milley said on January 28. “.
“It would be horrific,” he added.
