Biden is 'convinced' Putin has decided to further invade Ukraine

After weeks of saying the US wasn't sure if Putin had made the final decision to launch a widespread invasion, Biden said that assessment had changed

US President, Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden speaks with members of the press before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP | PTI Kyiv
1 min read Last Updated : Feb 19 2022 | 8:27 AM IST

US President Joe Biden said Friday he's "convinced" that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to launch a further invasion in Ukraine, saying he has "reason to believe" it will occur in the "coming days" and will include an assault on its capital, Kyiv.

After weeks of saying the US wasn't sure if Putin had made the final decision to launch a widespread invasion, Biden said that assessment had changed.

"As of this moment I'm convinced he's made the decision," Biden said. "We have reason to believe that." He cited the United States' "significant intelligence capability" for the assessment.

Biden reiterated his threat of massive economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia if it does invade, and pressed Putin to rethink his course of action. He said the US and its Western allies were more united than ever to ensure Russia pays a price for the invasion.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Topics :Joe BidenUkraineRussiaUS RussiaVladimir Putin

First Published: Feb 19 2022 | 8:27 AM IST

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