Biden: Putin has decided to invade Ukraine – breaking defenses, breaking defenses

WASHINGTON: The US government has “reason to believe” that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is inevitable and that a Russian attack on Kyiv will take place in the coming days, President Joe Biden said today.

“At this point, I am convinced that is the case [Russian President Vladimir Putin] made the decision. We have reason to believe that, ”Biden told the White House.

“We loudly and repeatedly voice Russia’s plans not because we want a conflict, but because we are doing everything in our power to eliminate any reason that Russia can give to justify the invasion of Ukraine and prevent them from moving,” he said. he added. that while Putin has not yet invaded, there is still time for diplomacy to work and a peaceful solution to be found.

Biden pointed to a number of actions that Russia or Russian-backed separatists have taken in recent days to provoke a Ukrainian attack, such as the shelling of a Ukrainian kindergarten in Donbas on Thursday and Russian state media claims that Ukraine is preparing to perpetuate. genocide of Russian citizens.

Immediately after Biden’s speech, the National Security Council acknowledged that the United States had “technical information” linking Russia to cyberattacks on Ukrainian defense and banking agencies earlier this week.

Asked about Russian nuclear exercises this weekend, Biden said he did not believe Russia was “remotely” considering the use of nuclear weapons; rather, Putin seeks to “convince the world that he can change the dynamics in Europe.”

He declined to elaborate on why he thought Putin decided to invade, saying only that the United States had “significant intelligence capabilities.”

Over the past two months, Breaking Defense has published a number of stories and opinions about the Ukrainian situation. Here is the choice: