President Biden told the nation Friday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided whether his forces will invade Ukraine. "We believe that they will target Ukraine's capital Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million innocent people," Biden said from the White House, the Los Angeles Times reports, adding that he has reasons for concluding that's Putin's intention. "We're calling out Russia's plans loudly and repeatedly, not because we want a conflict, but because we're doing everything in our power to remove any reasons that Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine."
It was Biden's bluntest assessment yet of the situation at the Ukraine border. Asked how he reached his conclusion, per USA Today, Biden said he was informed by the nation's "significant intelligence capability." Up until the moment of attack, Biden said, diplomacy remains a way out of the impasse involving Putin, Ukraine, and NATO nations. "As of this moment, I am convinced he's made the decision," Biden said. The president promised to help the Ukraine people but again said US troops would not be going into the country.
The mayor of Kyiv told the Munich Security Conference that his city would resist an invasion. "We're ready to fight with our families," said Vitali Klitschko, who thanked the allies for financial aid from the audience but added, "What we need right now [is] defensive weapons." The leaders at the annual conference warned Russia that an invasion would cause lasting harm to global norms, per the Washington Post. Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are representing the US in Germany. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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