(John Ransom, Headline USA) The White House is refuting a report from CNN that a call between president Joe Biden and Ukraine president Volodomyr Zelensky did not go well after Biden told the Ukrainian leader that a Russian invasion of his country is “imminent” and not to expect any more help from the United States.
“An unnamed official with Mr Zelensky’s government told CNN that a planned call on Thursday between the two leaders involved Mr Biden warning that Ukraine’s capital of Kiev could be targeted by Russian forces and ‘sacked’ in an invasion that he reportedly portrayed as imminent and a near-certain possibility,” said the Guardian.
While Biden has put 8,500 US troops on alert, none are expected to be deployed to Ukraine, but rather to countries in Eastern Europe, including Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary.
But a White House National Security Council spokesperson disputed the report of the phone call by CNN and others.
“This is not true,” said Emily Horne, spokesperson for the NCS. “President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February. He has previously said this publicly & we have been warning about this for months. Reports of anything more or different than that are completely false.”
Indeed, no signs that Russia’s buildup is slowing down. But certainly signs of Russia wanting this buildup to be televised and shared far and wide. The video is from the Defense Ministry’s Zvezda media channel. https://t.co/7bzuFzjYO0
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) January 28, 2022
Still, Christopher Miller at Buzzfeed reported that the military buildup by Russia continues on the Ukraine border as shown widespread by Russian TV, perhaps to help create a crisis atmosphere, which Biden for one is helping to kindle.
“Indeed, no signs that Russia’s buildup is slowing down,” said Miller on Twitter. “But certainly signs of Russia wanting this buildup to be televised and shared far and wide. The video is from the Defense Ministry’s Zvezda media channel.”
The dispute between the two presidents about the call is symptomatic of a wider problem of confused messaging inside the Biden White House that has happened on other issues but has been amplified in the Ukraine messaging because of the stakes are a bloody war that the US could be drawn into.
Biden was previously criticized for implying that a “minor” incursion into Ukraine by Russia might not entail much risk but quickly tried to make up for the gaffe.
“Still, the remarks prompted confusion and criticism among experts and pushback from Republicans,” said the Hill. “The confusion came at an inopportune time for the Biden administration, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken preparing to meet with his Russian counterpart in Geneva later this week.”
