Joe Biden tells Vladimir Putin where to push his ‘red lines’

President Joe Biden has been “clear” about the consequences Russia will face Moscow decided to invade UkraineNational Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a news conference following a two-hour video call between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

“[Biden] frankly told President Putin that if Russia continues to invade Ukraine, the United States and our European allies will respond with strong economic measures,” said Mr. “We will provide additional defensive material to the Ukrainians above and beyond what we have been provided with. And we will bolster our NATO allies on the eastern flank with additional capabilities to deal with such escalation.”

The virtual summit takes place just a few days later explosive intelligence analysis, first reported by washington articles, revealed that Moscow may be planning a 175,000-strong offensive against Ukraine as early as next year. Before the talk, Putin had warned Biden not to cross “red lines” when it came to Ukraine, seeking assurances that NATO forces would not expand into Eastern Europe nor allow Ukraine to join. as a member.

Biden’s reaction to that? “I don’t accept anyone’s red lines. ”

According to Sullivan, Russia will have to deal with more sanctions in the event of a further attack on Ukraine, and Washington does not rule out the possibility of deploying more US troops to help protect the Baltic allies in the event of Russia. aggression. Ukraine.

“We expect they will be looking for additional capabilities and additional deployment capabilities, and the United States will seek to respond positively to those in the event of another incursion into Ukraine,” said Sullivan. , who later added that Biden made “No Commitments or Concessions” to Russia’s demands to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.

Biden’s response to Putin’s “red lines” this week helped him the fury of state TV pundits and Putin loyalists throughout Russia. “Let him try to overcome them… The armed forces of the Russian Federation are still in a state of military readiness and ready to carry out any orders of our commander-in-chief,” said Andrei. Kartapolov, head of the Defense Committee of the State Duma. , said, adding: “Don’t play with fire. Don’t mess with us”.

Speaking to The Daily Beast on Monday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that “the West did not react in time” to Russia’s recent aggression. In the interview, Reznikov seemed pessimistic about Moscow’s ability to keep any diplomatic promises to Ukraine and asserted that the only way to keep Russia in place was for NATO to help bolster Ukraine’s military.

“NS [only] guaranteed to be practical steps by the West to strengthen the defense capabilities of Ukraine and our military,” Reznikov said. “Therefore, the costs of a possible escalation would be unacceptable to the Kremlin’s military plans, and also serve as a clear precautionary signal to Russia that escalating Escalation of war would destroy Russia economically. Only such an approach would be a guarantee. “