Biden says Putin has already made decision to attack Ukraine

Washington, Feb 18 (EFE).- United States President Joe Biden said Friday that Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had already decided to attack Ukraine.

“At this moment I am convinced that he has already made a decision,” Biden said at a White House press conference when asked if he believes the Russian president has already adopted a resolution on the matter.

The US president said Putin is focused on “trying to convince the world that he has the ability to change the dynamics in Europe.”

He said Russian soldiers surround Ukraine from different parts of the common border and from Belarus.

“We believe that the Russian forces are planning to attack Ukraine in the next week, the next few days. We believe that they will attack the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, a city of 2.8 million innocent inhabitants,” he said.

Biden said “it may be a wise choice” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to leave his country in the event of a Russian invasion. and justified the US’ involvement.

“Not because we want a conflict, but because we are going to do everything in our power to eliminate the reason that Russia can use to invade Ukraine and keep them from moving,” he said.

He said Russia is seeking to create a pretext and relies on disinformation to justify an attack.

Biden said that if Russia finally invades Ukrainian territory it will be “responsible” for an “unnecessary and catastrophic” war it has chosen to carry out.

Throughout his speech, the president emphasized the “unity” between the US and its allies against Russia and threatened, once again, to impose sanctions on Moscow in the event of an attack on Ukraine.

However, Biden left the door open for diplomacy, since, saying “it is not too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table.”

Biden had a joint call with transatlantic leaders Friday about the likelihood of “further Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.

“Together they expressed deep concern about the continued mobilization of Russian forces, reiterated their strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and spoke of the importance of further economic assistance to Ukraine,” the statement said.

The White House said allies promised to continue betting on diplomacy to reduce tension, while preparing to impose “coordinated and rapid economic costs” on Russia, “if it opts for more conflict.”

They also discussed efforts to guarantee “the defense and security” of NATO’s eastern flank.

Apart from Biden, the presidents of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and of the European Council, Charles Michel, participated in that call; and the leaders of France, Emmanuel Macron, Germany, Olaf Sholz, Poland, Andrzej Duda, and Romania, Klaus Iohannis.

British, Canadian, and Italian Prime Ministers Boris Johnson, Justin Trudeau and Mario Draghi respectively and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also participated. EFE

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