Biden says he’s now convinced Putin has decided to invade Ukraine, but leaves

CNN
—  

President Joe Biden on Friday said he is now convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the decision to invade Ukraine, but emphasized that room for diplomacy remains.

“As of this moment, I am convinced he’s made the decision,” Biden said during remarks at the White House.

The President also said the US believes Russian forces intend to attack Ukraine “in the coming week” or sooner, and that an attack will target the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Biden plans to spend the weekend monitoring the ongoing Ukraine crisis from the White House as he meets with his national security team and remains in close contact with world leaders, multiple officials say. Biden had considered traveling to Delaware, as he typically does, but decided to remain in Washington.

Throughout recent days, the Biden administration has publicly disclosed several intelligence details on Russian movements – a marked shift in how US national security officials typically operate. The administration’s decision to discuss their movements “loudly and repeatedly,” Biden said Friday inside the Roosevelt Room, was made “to remove any reason that Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine and prevent them from moving.”

“Make no mistake. If Russia pursues its plans, it will be responsible for a catastrophic and needless war of choice,” he added.

The President’s assertion on Friday that he’s “convinced” Putin has “made the decision” to invade Ukraine is a significant change in his position. Biden previously stated he did not believe the Russian leader had made up his mind, but acknowledged his insights into Putin’s thinking were limited. He did note that he hoped diplomacy could de-escalate the situation, saying on Friday that “diplomacy is always a possibility.”

Questioned on why he believed Putin is considering diplomacy at all, Biden said only: “We have a significant intelligence capability.”

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova rebutted Biden’s comments, denying that Russia intends to invade Ukraine, according to state-run news agency RIA-Novosti.

“The American president also repeated the unsubstantiated thesis about Russia’s alleged attempts to ‘attack’ Ukraine, threatening Moscow with sanctions in the event of an escalation. The Russian Federation categorically denies such statements and escalation plans attributed to it,” RIA said.

White House officials have warned that Russia could face extensive sanctions if it invades Ukraine, calling them “the most severe measures we’ve ever contemplated against Russia.”

Biden said Friday that Russian misinformation is building up to a false justification for Putin to invade Ukraine, accusing Russia of ceasefire violations in the “rapidly escalating crisis.”

“Over the last few days, we’ve seen reports of a major uptick in violations of the ceasefire by Russian-backed fighters attempting to provoke…