U.S. Says It Wants To Be Prepared In Case Russia Invades Ukraine, Hopes To Make Aggression 'Very, Very Difficult'
According to RFE/RL, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration says it wants to be prepared in case Russia invades Ukraine and the onus is on Moscow to change its behaviour toward its neighbour, as warnings over a buildup of Russian troops near the border intensified on December 3.
The White House rebutted Russian demands this week over the West's relations with Ukraine by saying that "NATO decides who joins NATO, not Russia," and added that U.S. security assistance to Ukraine remains under consideration.
Administration spokeswoman Jen Psaki also said that the United States was ready to impose sanctions or take other punitive measures against Russia if it escalates its actions with respect to Ukraine.
The White House declined to say whether military planning is among the moves being considered as part of a "comprehensive" set of measures for Ukraine.
It also said it couldn't tell what Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans were with respect to Ukraine but that Moscow had taken steps that could allow for an invasion.
"That is why we want to be prepared and in an area, we have expressed serious concern about," Psaki said.
Biden said hours earlier that he was readying initiatives to "make it very, very difficult" for Russia to escalate militarily against Ukraine, as Kyiv expressed fears of an attack next month amid a troop buildup in western Russia.
The warning came after a Russian official suggested Biden and Putin would speak by video "within days" but possibly after the Russian leader's scheduled trip next week to India.
Psaki said the White House was preparing for a possible call with Putin to discuss the Ukrainian situation.
"What I am doing is putting together what I believe to be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he's going to do," Biden said.
Biden told reporters that his administration was in "constant contact" with Ukraine and European allies about the situation, following weeks of reports that more than 90,000 Russian troops, tanks, and heavy weaponry were amassing near the border with Ukraine.
Russia invaded and forcibly seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, while Russia-backed separatists also launched a conflict in eastern Ukraine against the Kyiv central government. Peace efforts have lowered the intensity of fighting but commitments on both sides remain unmet.
Earlier on December 3, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told lawmakers that Ukrainian intelligence had "emphasize[d] that the likelihood of large-scale escalation by Russia exists."
