President Biden Emphatically Warns Moscow: It Would Be A Disaster For Russia If They Invaded Ukraine

United States President Joe Biden. (Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden predicted on Wednesday Russia would take action against Ukraine, insisting Moscow would pay a heavy price in the event of a full-scale invasion.

President Biden's comments at a White House press conference injected uncertainty into how the West would respond if Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine, prompting the White House to then seek to clarify what Biden meant.

"My guess is he will move. He has to do something," President Biden said of President Putin at a news conference, citing Reuters January 20.

"Russia will be held accountable if it attacks, and that depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor attack and we end up having to fight about what to do and what not to do etcetera," President Biden said.

"But if they really do what they are capable of, it would be disastrous for Russia if they invaded Ukraine further."

Russian officials have repeatedly denied planning to attack, but the Kremlin has amassed about 100.000 troops near the Ukrainian border, an increase the West says is preparation for war to prevent Ukraine from joining the Western NATO security alliance.

Shortly after the nearly two-hour press conference ended, the White House stressed any Russian military move into Ukraine would elicit a strong response.

"If any Russian military forces move across Ukraine's borders, it is a new invasion, and it will be met with a swift, strong, and united response from the United States and our allies," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

"However, cyberattacks and paramilitary tactics by Russia will be met with "a firm, reciprocal and united response," she continued.

President Joe Biden's online meeting with President Putin. (Twitter/@WhiteHouse)

In this regard, Republicans expressed concern about Biden's statement.

"Any attack by the Russian military on Ukraine should be seen as a major attack because it would destabilize Ukraine and the freedom-loving nations of Eastern Europe," Republican Senator Rob Portman said.

However, President Biden said a third summit with President Putin was "still possible", after the two leaders met twice last year. He said he feared the Ukraine conflict could have wider implications and "could spiral out of control."

Speaking to reporters at length about the crisis that threatens to devour his presidency, President Biden said he believed Putin would put Western leaders to the test. The response to any Russian invasion, he said, would depend on the scale of Moscow's actions and whether US allies bicker over how to react.

Asked what he meant by "minor strikes", President Biden said NATO allies were not united on how to respond depending on what Putin actually did, saying "there are differences" between them and that he was trying to ensure that "everyone supports the same page".

"Big powers can't bluff, number one. Number two, the idea that we would do anything to break up NATO ... would be a grave mistake. So the question is, is it something far from a significant invasion or just a large military force?" that comes. For example, determining whether they continue to use cyber efforts, we can respond in the same way," he explained.

On the same occasion, President Biden also said President Putin had asked him to guarantee two things: Ukraine would never join NATO and "strategic" or nuclear weapons were never placed on Ukrainian soil.

Earlier, the Kremlin said tensions around Ukraine were rising and it was still waiting for a written US response to its broad demands for security guarantees from the West, including a halt to further NATO expansion and the withdrawal of alliance troops from the joining central and eastern European countries thereafter. 1997.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Western arms shipments to Ukraine, military maneuvers, and NATO aircraft flights were to blame for rising tensions around Ukraine.