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President Joe Biden is set to deliver remarks on the highly combustible situation at the Ukrainian border, where the buildup of tens of thousands of Russian troops has stoked fears that an invasion could be imminent.
Biden is expected to reiterate the United States’ willingness to engage with the Kremlin in hopes of de-escalating the crisis through diplomacy.
The president will also make clear that the U.S. “is prepared for every scenario,” the White House said.
On Tuesday morning, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that it was withdrawing some of the 100,000-plus troops on Ukraine’s border. The stock market lit up following that news, but a Biden administration official expressed skepticism about whether the Kremlin was really pulling back.
The U.S. has recently warned that Russia could invade at any time — possibly even during the Olympics, despite prior speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin would opt to wait until after the games close next Sunday before ordering an attack.
Biden has warned Putin directly that the U.S. and its allies will “impose swift and severe costs on Russia” if it invades Ukraine.
The Kremlin has denied that it is instigating the conflict, instead accusing Ukraine and its allies of stoking a crisis. At the same time, Russia has put forth a list of security demands, including that the NATO alliance never accept Ukraine as a member.
Kyiv has for years wanted to join the military bloc, where an attack on one member is considered an attack on them all. Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
