The White House is continuing to warn about the threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine as diplomatic entreaties by world leaders to forestall a crisis show little progress.
President Joe Biden’s deputy principal press secretary said Russia has not moved to deescalate its presence on Ukraine’s border, where some 100,000 troops are massed, and reiterated Washington’s concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin could invade the country at any moment.
“There is only one country who is currently building up their forces at the Ukraine border, and that’s Russia,” said Karine Jean-Pierre.
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She stressed the White House’s position that “the door to diplomacy is open” but said the specter of war continued to hang over discussions.
“We are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time,” Jean-Pierre said.
In calls and meetings with Putin, Biden and other world leaders have sought to resolve the standoff diplomatically.
“The stakes for this are too high not to give Russia” a chance to step back, a senior administration official said Saturday after Biden and Putin talked.
While the call was described as “professional and substantive,” the official maintained that “there was no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks.”
Over the weekend, Biden also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration claimed to have evidence of a Kremlin plot to fabricate a pretext for invasion, while news reports citing U.S. intelligence have said that Moscow could launch an attack as soon as Wednesday.
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Speaking to reporters Monday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Russia’s denial that it does not plan to invade “strains credulity” given the buildup.
Moscow’s buildup has continued throughout these engagements despite the aforementioned denials of a planned invasion.
