President Joe Biden had not talked to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky nearly 24 hours after stoking concern over a U.S. response to a potential “minor incursion” by Russia into Ukraine.
“He has not. He has spoken with him a couple of times, as you know, in the last month,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday. She said officials remained engaged with Ukraine “at a very high level,” even as Biden’s Ukrainian counterpart pushed back on the president’s suggestion that Russian action could showcase a split.
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During a Wednesday news conference, Biden made the “guess” that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will move in” to Ukrainian territory after amassing 100,000 troops along the country’s border, suggesting that Russian action could showcase a divide among trans-Atlantic allies. Critics said Biden’s words gave Putin a “green light” to attack Ukraine.
“Russia will be held accountable if it invades, and it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and we have to fight about what to do and not to do,” Biden said to reporters. “But if they actually do what they’re capable of doing with the force amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine.”
Responding to the president, Zelensky insisted, “There are no minor incursions.”
Psaki and other top officials said the president was responding to the possibility of Russian cyber and paramilitary warfare.
“The point he was making is that we have a range of tools,” Psaki said Thursday.
Biden appeared to clarify his remarks during an event Thursday, stating that he had made the costs of a Russian invasion clear to Putin and viewed any movement of Russian troops into Ukraine as an invasion.
“Any, any assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion,” he told reporters.
Asked whether the president had signed off on final sanctions, Psaki demurred. She declined to “predict” future phone calls between Biden and Putin.
Washington has threatened unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia pending a military attack on Ukraine and publicly urged a united front among trans-Atlantic allies.
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Psaki also denied that a slew of media appearances by Biden’s top aides on Thursday was part of an effort to retool the president’s remarks.
