Jen Psaki: The US will regard Russian troops crossing the border with Ukraine as an invasion The US will consider Russian troops crossing the border with Ukraine a “new invasion”, according to Psaki, Biden made this clear to Putin. In the event of such actions, Russia is waiting for a “quick, tough and unified response” ” alt=”The White House clarified what they would consider an “invasion” of Ukraine” />
Jan Psaki
The United States will regard any crossing of the border with Ukraine by Russian military personnel as a “new invasion”; to this country, said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
According to her, US President Joe Biden “made it clear” this is to Russian colleague Vladimir Putin. Psaki threatened that such actions on the part of Russia would entail “a quick, tough and unified response from the United States and allies.”
As Psaki stated, Biden knows that Russia “has an extensive arsenal of aggressive actions” & mdash; not only the military, but also “cyber attacks and paramilitary tactics.” “Today he confirmed that these acts of Russian aggression will be given a decisive, mutual and united response,” she promised.
A few hours earlier, Biden gave a press conference on the occasion of the first year of his tenure as head of state. He devoted part of his speech to relations between Russia and Ukraine and said that Moscow would face “catastrophic consequences”; in case of aggression against Kiev. According to him, if there is an invasion of Ukraine, Russia is threatened with tough economic measures, Russian banks will not be able to conduct transactions with dollars. Putin has “never seen sanctions” like the ones the United States is working on, Biden said.
On January 18, Psaki said that the crisis around Ukraine poses an extreme degree of danger, and Russia could launch an attack on a neighboring country at any moment. Similar concerns were expressed by the leadership of other Western countries, in particular, Germany. According to German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock, more than 100,000 troops are concentrated on the Russian-Ukrainian border “for no apparent reason”, which is hard not to perceive as a threat. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russia to reduce the number of its troops in this region.
The Russian side has repeatedly stated that the country does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, and the movement of troops on its own territory— her internal affairs. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov pointed out that against the background of the “unfriendly atmosphere” due to NATO exercises and the movement of its infrastructure to the east, Moscow is “forced to take precautionary measures”: Russian troops are near the Ukrainian border, which is necessary “in the face of a very tense situation.” At the same time, he stressed that the Kremlin ruled out the deployment of offensive weapons in Ukraine.
On January 11, the Western Military District announced the start of exercises at training grounds in the Voronezh, Belgorod and Bryansk regions bordering Ukraine. The maneuvers also started in the Smolensk region. The next day, the US State Department called on Russia to provide an explanation for what was happening, emphasizing that in order to create a “de-escalation atmosphere”; “transparency around any legitimate exercises on Russian territory” is needed. The Foreign Ministry said that Moscow does not intend to discuss with NATO or the United States the issues of the movement of troops through the territory of Russia.
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