Biden to Zelensky: U.S. ‘Will Respond Decisively if Russia Further Invades Ukraine’
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky on Sunday and “made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine,” the according to a statement from White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
Psaki said that during the two leaders’ conversation, Biden “reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The conversation comes amid a build-up of Russian military forces near the Ukrainian border, and increasing concerns that Russia is imminently planning to invade Ukraine.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Sunday that he “fear[s] that Putin is very likely to invade.”
“I still, frankly, don’t understand the full motivation for why, why now he’s doing this, but he certainly appears intent on it unless we can persuade him otherwise,” Schiff said. “And I think nothing other than a level of sanctions that Russia has never seen will deter him, and that’s exactly what we need to do with our allies.”
Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, and warned of sanctions should he choose to invade.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told Reuters that Putin told Biden that sanctions “could lead to a complete breakdown in ties between our countries.”
“Our president also mentioned that it would be a mistake that our descendants would see as a huge error,” he added.
