US President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday that an eventual invasion of Ukraine would imply a “rapid and decisive” response from the West, at “severe costs” to Russia.
“While the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with its allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios,” Biden told Putin in a telephone conversation, according to a statement released by the White House.
Biden also said an offensive against Ukraine would cause “widespread human suffering”.
The call was “professional and substantive” and lasted over an hour. Washington said, however, that the conversation did not result in a “fundamental change” in the deployment of Russian troops on the borders with Ukraine.
The Kremlin, for its part, said Putin and Biden had agreed to “proceed” with the dialogue on Ukraine.
After days of diplomatic efforts to try to defuse tensions in Eastern Europe, the crisis escalated again with military exercises and exchanges of blame. On Thursday, the Kremlin began maneuvers with forces from Belarus, an allied dictatorship in northern Ukraine, with about 30,000 Russian troops and an uncertain number of Belarusians operating anti-aircraft systems, armored vehicles and advanced attack aircraft. .
On Friday, Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan again said, without citing specific evidence, that Russia has gathered enough forces to launch a military offensive against Ukraine “at any time.”
The US embassy in Ukraine announced that it had decided to withdraw its non-essential personnel from its headquarters in Kiev, and Moscow also said it had reduced its diplomatic corps in the neighboring country. Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Australia, Japan and Israel have recommended that their fellow citizens leave Ukraine.
The Brazilian embassy in Kiev released a statement in which it asks Brazilian citizens in Ukraine to remain on alert, but informed that there is no recommendation against their presence in the country.
This Saturday (12), the Russian armed forces reported having intercepted a US submarine near an island in the far east of the country. According to the military, the vessel ignored a warning given by the Russian Navy.
Earlier, in a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin called the US claim that Russia was preparing an invasion of Ukraine “provocative speculation”.
“Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron discussed […] provocative speculation related to an alleged Russian ‘invasion’ of Ukraine, accompanied by significant deliveries of modern weapons to that country,” the Russian presidency said.
Macron, for his part, told Putin that “sincere dialogue is not compatible with a military escalation” on Russia’s border with Ukraine, the Elysee Palace reported.
