The White House is monitoring reports of a partial pullback of Russian forces from Ukraine’s border after weeks of diplomatic maneuvering and heated warnings to Kremlin leaders over the threat of invasion.
National security and diplomatic advisers to President Joe Biden said Washington is watching Russian troop movements after Moscow declared that some soldiers near Ukraine would return from their positions. With more than 100,000 soldiers stationed on Ukraine’s doorstep, U.S. officials have said that Russian President Vladimir Putin could invade at any moment.
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“As with all things Russia, actions speak louder than words. We’re going to monitor everything that we see on the ground very carefully,” said Daleep Singh, White House deputy national security adviser for economics and deputy director of the National Economic Council, speaking to CNBC.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said Washington would need to verify Moscow’s claims and that Russia had made similar unsupported assertions in December last year.
“At that moment when we went in to verify, we actually found no signs of that, and since then, we’ve only seen Russian forces moving in the opposite direction,” Smith said.
Singh and other officials have said the United States is ready to inflict severe economic and trade sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine, levying immediate measures instead of ramping up incrementally.
Biden is set to give remarks on the standoff Tuesday afternoon.
The White House has warned repeatedly of the threat of a Russian attack, with deputy principal press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday stating that “we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time.” News reports citing U.S. intelligence had warned that Moscow could launch an attack midweek.
Russia has denied any intent to invade Ukraine but has demanded security concessions from NATO, including a promise that the alliance will not add Ukraine as a member.
Still, in a tentative sign that Russia could be looking to dial down tensions through diplomatic channels rather than launching a military attack, Putin, during a joint news conference on Tuesday with the chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, said he was prepared to discuss security measures with the U.S. and NATO.
The U.S. has called for diplomatic efforts to continue, but Biden’s advisers have downplayed expectations, including a call with Putin over the weekend that an aide characterized as making little progress.
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“There was no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks,” a senior administration official told reporters after the talk.
The Russian leader had said in December that he would “really like” to meet with Biden, though a sit-down has not materialized.
