Vladimir Putin Decided On Invading Ukraine, President Biden Says Citing Intelligence

After hours of escalation in eastern Ukraine, filled with shelling, evacuation orders and an apparent pipeline explosion in eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden took to the podium in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Sunday afternoon. Friday, and make the most severe comment yet that Russia will invade Ukraine.

“At this point, I believe he’s made the decision,” Biden said. “We have reason to believe that.”

His remarks were a big departure from the measured statements the Biden administration and US officials have been making for months, reassuring Americans and Ukrainians as well as US intelligence assessments that Putin is still undecided on whether to invade or not.

When asked to clarify whether that was really what he meant – that Putin would invade Ukraine, Biden adamantly replied: “Yes, I did. Yes.”

Biden’s assessment of the situation was based on “substantial intelligence capabilities,” he said.

His remarks came after hours of worsening situation in Ukraine: Russian-backed separatist leader Denis Pushilin ordered evacuation from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) in Eastern Ukraine on Friday, warning of an alleged impending attack in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say these claims are untrue.

On Friday, the Russian media also began to spread the news about a car bomb explosion in the DNR, which officials have warned could be part of a Russian plan to create a wrong flag attack pretext for invasion. Other accusations of Ukraine’s aggression began to appear in Russian media on Friday. The Deputy Commander of the DPR Operational Command, Eduard Basurin, announced on Friday that the Ukrainian army had begun shelling the Donbass.

It was part of Putin’s plan to declare Ukraine an aggressor, not Russia, and that Russian forces must come forward to protect and build peace.

“Russian state media also continue to make false accusations about an ongoing genocide in the Donbass and make fabricated statements warning of Ukraine’s attack on Russia without any proof. any evidence,” Biden said on Friday. “All of this is consistent with the playbook the Russians have used in the past to concoct a false justification for action against Ukraine.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that the information emanating from the Russian media is highly dubious and misleading.

“We have been warning for weeks of false flag events that Russia would use as an excuse to justify an attack on Ukraine,” a State Department spokesman told The Daily Beast of the claims. false fatherhood is spreading in eastern Ukraine. “Over the past few days, Russian media have been spreading false alarms and claims to maximize public outrage over baseless accusations. This is a fundamental part of their book. We are certainly concerned that these incidents could be fake events that they staged to justify an attack.”

DNR’s Pushilin seems almost resigned to Biden to conflict. Asked earlier on Friday whether war was imminent, he said, “Unfortunately, yes.”

In the coming days, although Putin may have decided to invade, there is still some glimmer of hope. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are likely to meet next week, according to Biden.

“Until he does [invade]diplomacy is always a possibility,” said Biden.

And while diplomacy is still on the table, the fallout from Biden’s remarks that Putin has decided to invade could have far-reaching effects on civilians in the country. Ukraine, give financial sectoror energy field, and even for democracies around the world. Some fear that if Putin could move into Ukraine and attack their neighbour, other autocrats might also offer suggestions to advance their agenda on the world stage.

“My concern is also China is watching, you worry about China taking Taiwan. You worry about Iran and the nuclear explosion,” Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Fox News this week. “And if Putin can easily invade and take over Ukraine, I am very concerned that other regions can happen as well.”