Biden Says ‘Every Indication’ is Russia Preparing to Invade Ukraine ‘In the Next Several Days’

President Joe Biden said he believes Vladimir Putin will order Russia to invade Ukraine in a matter of days.

Speaking to the White House press pool on Thursday, Biden said there is a “very high” risk Russia will invade within several days. He pointed to how Russia is still moving military forces toward the Ukrainian border, and he said “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, attack Ukraine.”

Biden’s comments come amid reports that Russia expelled the U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Russia, Bart Gorman, the latest development in the tensions between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia. Asked if he thinks “this is going to happen,” the president answered, “yes, my sense is this’ll happen in the next several days.”

Biden said there is still hope for a diplomatic path forward, saying Secretary of State Antony Blinken is preparing a statement with the United Nations to outline what that could look like.

“I’ve laid out a path to Putin as well,” Biden said, though he added that he has “no plans to call Putin right now.”

Biden’s remarks follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s warning several days ago that Russia was going to Ukraine on Wednesday. Zelensky’s office clarified he was speaking in jest when his initial comments sparked an international media frenzy, but the situation on the Ukrainian border remains precarious.

Watch above, via MSNBC.