- President Joe Biden has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could invade Ukraine.
- U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met Ukrainian leaders in Kiev on Wednesday.
- Russia has repeatedly said Ukraine’s turn to NATO is a threat to its national security.
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reiterated Sunday that the United States and NATO would strongly support Ukraine if Russian forces invade.
“As I said, if an additional Russian force enters Ukraine in a radical way, that would trigger a swift, harsh and unified response from us and Europe,” Blinken said in an interview with CNN.
While Blinken reiterated that the U.S. is interested in resolving the conflict through diplomatic means, he stressed that “whether a war in Ukraine is inevitable” is “Vladimir Putin’s choice.”
On Friday, Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the latest bilateral talks to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Blinken acknowledged in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the Kremlin may be “just walking around and not affecting their final decision on whether to invade.” He later added that he was “very confident” that all NATO members would have a “unified response” to any Russian action.
The Secretary of State’s remarks come as Western countries have stepped up direct military aid to Ukraine and Russian troops have been massed on the borders of Eastern European countries.
America is threading the needle.Biden administration officials suggest U.S. will Support Ukrainian insurgency if Russia invades The country, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
The top diplomat’s visit to Ukraine and Germany last week was part of a wider engagement between the West and Russia after talks between the two countries hit a snag in early January. Russia has repeatedly said Ukraine’s drift toward the West and NATO is a threat to its national security and is willing to use force to reverse the country’s trajectory.
U.S. and Russian officials are increasingly pessimistic about the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the conflict, with one Russian diplomat saying last week, Negotiations between the two sides fell into a “dead end”.
Here’s what we know about the standoff between Ukraine, NATO, and Russia, and the U.S. role:
Biden: Russia will face ‘heavy’ losses if it invades Ukraine
President Joe Biden warned at a White House news conference on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin could invade Ukraine.
“Militarily, they have an overwhelming advantage over Ukraine,” Biden said of Russia’s strength. “But if they do, they will pay a heavy price in the immediate, medium and long term.”
Biden was well aware of his relationship with Putin, noting that the two had “frank discussions” and understood each other’s positions. Biden reiterated his top national security aide’s assessment that Russia could now “attack Ukraine at any time.”
While he said he wasn’t sure what actions Putin would risk taking, “I would guess he would do it in Ukraine.” However, Biden warned that if that happened, Russia would face severe losses on the battlefield and economically.
Biden said it would be “a disaster for Russia.”
“You can go in, and over time, with huge losses and economic losses, go in and take over Ukraine. But for a few years? One, three, five, ten? What does that take? What does it cost? It’s real Yes, it is inevitable. So this is not just a piece of cake for Russia.”
“If they hack, they will pay,” Biden said, referring to economic sanctions that would functionally exclude Russian financial institutions from the SWIFT system, enabling global finance. “Their banks won’t be able to process dollars.”
Biden also speculated that Putin’s actions were motivated by a deep sense of loss over the collapse of the Soviet Union, Putin has repeatedly called it a “true tragedy.” With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine declared independence in 1991.
“He’s trying to find his place in the world between China and the West,” Biden reasoned, noting that while countries like Ukraine now have sovereignty over “Mother Russia,” Biden urged Putin to “look at what he possessions,” including, he noted, a vast country spanning eight time zones.
In his speech, Biden suggested that NATO’s response could be differentiated based on whether Russia was involved in a “small-scale invasion,” a distinction that sounded alarm bells in Ukraine, Push Ukraine President Zelensky to scold Biden on Twitter.
Shortly after Biden’s press conference, White House press secretary Jane Psaki issued a statement reiterating that “if any Russian troops cross the Ukrainian border, it will be a new invasion that will receive a swift, harsh and unified response from the Ukrainian government. .America and our allies” after criticism from allies.
Blinken: Russia ready to take ‘radical action’
US intelligence estimates that Moscow has deployed at least 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine. The Russian military has also built the logistical infrastructure necessary to quickly invade the country.
About 20,000 soldiers are stationed on the border of two rebel provinces in Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia has supported separatist militants since annexing Crimea in 2014, and Crimea has continued to host troops in the latest buildup.
“We know there are plans to increase this power further in a very short period of time,” Blinken said at a news conference in Kiev on Wednesday. He added that the build-up “enables President Putin to take further aggressive actions against Ukraine in a very short period of time.”
On January 14, the Ukrainian government said it was attacked by a hacking group called UNC1151, which compromised several government websites. “Fear and expect the worst,” An article published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reads as follows. Ukrainian and U.S. officials suspect that while UNC1151 carried out the attack, Links to Belarusian intelligence, the sabotage was likely ordered by Russia.
Russia also has a military presence in Belarus, located in northern Ukraine, creating prospects for an invasion of the country from three fronts.
U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Russia of planning sabotage and terror attacks inside Ukraine, which the Russian military will use as a pretext for the invasion.
Western ambassadors in Kiev
Blinken is not the only diplomat engaging with Russia and Ukraine as tensions mount. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolly strongly condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine while announcing that Canada will send special forces to Kiev.
Diplomats from France and Germany were also sent to Ukraine to reassure the country of Western support.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that the European Union, which Russia has so far shunned in negotiations, must draw up a different plan from Washington to address “the most tragic thing – the possibility of war.”
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — each post-Soviet state that joined NATO — Announced that they would provide Ukraine with arms and other aid Recognized by the United States.
Britain has announced it will send anti-tank weapons to Ukraine and will draw up plans to support the insurgency.On Saturday, the British government also issued a statement saying that Moscow Drafting a plan to create a pro-Russian government in Kiev Through subversive tactics and regime change.
The statement named several Ukrainian politicians the Kremlin was considering for appointment as puppet leaders, writing that the information “reveals the extent of Russian activity aimed at subverting Ukraine and is an insight into Kremlin thinking.
The efforts underscore the concentration of diplomatic proposals for Ukraine, a week after talks to stop the Russian attack broke down with Moscow.
US senator visits Kiev
Back in Washington, a bipartisan delegation of senators wrapped up a 48-hour visit to Ukraine on Tuesday night, where they met with Zelensky and expressed strong solidarity with Ukraine.
The panel includes Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Kevin Cramer, RN.D., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Jeanne Shaheen, DN. H., and Roger Wick, R-Miss.
The White House issued a statement Wednesday saying that President Joe Biden held a phone call with senators in which they discussed “the best ways in which the United States can continue to work closely with our allies and partners to support Ukraine, including on-going diplomacy. Try to address the current crisis and deterrence.”
“We need to be firm and united in letting Vladimir Putin and Russia know that if there is another physical invasion of Ukraine, the consequences will be devastating,” Portman said.
Portman later said he was “deeply disturbed” by Biden’s “slightly offensive” remarks, a sentiment echoed by fellow Republicans who attended the visit. Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, said she remains confident in Biden’s commitment to a forceful response, while acknowledging that he may have said the wrong thing at the news conference.
On Sunday, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa said the United States must “promote President Putin very aggressively” to support sanctions on Russian financial institutions and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to Europe.
Ernst said the Biden administration “is simply acting on the advice of Congress” and more needs to be done to support Ukraine.
Follow Matthew Brown Online @mrbrownsir.
Contributor: Michael Collins