The President tells the citizens of Russia ‘you are not our enemy’ as he warns Putin to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine
In a speech at the White House, Biden said to Russian citizens that the US and its allies are not a threat to them and that there’s “plenty” of room for diplomacy with Russia to avoid a conflict in Europe.
“The United States and NATO are not a threat to Russia. Ukraine is not a threat to Russia. Neither the US nor NATO have missiles in Ukraine. We do not — do not — have plans to put them there, as well. We’re not targeting the people of Russia. We do not seek to destabilize Russia. To the citizens of Russia: you are not our enemy,” Biden said.
The President told Russians he did not believe they wanted “a bloody destructive war against Ukraine, a country and the people with whom you share such deep ties of family history and culture.”
He harkened back to World War II, pointing out that Americans and Russians had “fought and sacrificed side by side in the worst war in history.”
“World War II was a war of necessity, but if Russia attacks Ukraine, it would be a war of choice — a war without cause or reason,” he said, adding that he was not trying to “provoke,” but instead wanted to “speak the truth.”
“If Russia does invade in the days and weeks ahead, the human costs for Ukraine will be immense, and the strategic cost for Russia will also be immense,” the President warned. “If Russia attacks Ukraine, to be met with overwhelming international condemnation.”
“The world will not forget that Russia chose needless death and destruction,” he said. “Invading Ukraine will prove to be a self-inflicted wound.”
Biden sounded optimistic that diplomacy would resolve the crisis after Russia publicly proposed to continue talks, saying, “We should give the diplomacy every chance to succeed and I believe there are real ways to address our respective security concerns.”
But he also cautioned that the US has not yet verified that Russia has begun the withdrawal of some troops following the completion of recent military drills.
“We have not yet verified the Russian military units are returning to their home bases. Indeed, our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position,” Biden said.
The President also underscored that “Russia has more than 150,000 troops circling Ukraine and Belarus and along Ukraine’s border, and invasion remains distinctly possible.”
That amassing of troops has continued to raise fears among Western and Ukrainian intelligence officials that an invasion could be imminent.
The Russian defense ministry said troops from its Southern and Western military districts — parts of which are next door to Ukraine — had begun to return to their home stations, though the announcement did not say precisely where those troops were permanently based, where they had been exercising, or how many of them were withdrawing.
Biden, on Tuesday, also addressed the consequences Americans will face if Russia moves into Ukraine, saying that “the American people understand that defending democracy and liberty is never without cost.”
The US is prepared to respond to higher energy prices and the potential for cyberattacks, he said.
“I will not pretend this will be painless,” Biden noted.
Biden held phone calls with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend.
“We cannot perfectly predict the day, but we have now been saying for some time that we are in the window, and an invasion could begin, a major military action could begin by Russia in Ukraine any day now — that includes this coming week, before the end of the Olympics,” Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday’s “State of the Union.”
He added, “The way they have built up their forces, the way they have maneuvered things in place, makes it a distinct possibility there will be major military action very soon. And we are prepared to continue to work on diplomacy, but we are also prepared to respond in a united and decisive way with our allies and partners should Russia proceed.”
The US and other nations have warned their citizens in recent days to leave Ukraine. And on Monday, US announced it would be temporarily relocating its embassy in Kyiv to Lviv, a city in western Ukraine “due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
“At the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, the global information space faced a media campaign unprecedented in its scale and sophistication, the purpose of which is to convince the world community that the Russian Federation is preparing an invasion of the territory of Ukraine,” the Ministry said in a statement published on its website.
While the alliance is defensive in nature, Putin sees its move into eastern Europe as a direct threat to Russia and his notion that Moscow is entitled to a sphere of influence in the region. Ukraine is not a NATO member so the US will not send troops to defend it. But Washington also says it should not be up to Putin to decide the destiny of another independent, sovereign democracy.
In effect, Putin is holding Ukraine hostage with a demand for the withdrawal of NATO forces from eastern Europe that would amount to a major rewriting of the post-Cold War world that Washington will never accept. But he may perceive a historic moment in which he can open divisions in the alliance, forever crush Ukrainian dreams of joining the West, avenge the fall of the Soviet Union and advance his notion of Russian greatness.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, DJ Judd, Nikki Carvajal, Ivana Kottasová, Nathan Hodge and Uliana Pavlova contributed to this report.
