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Biden thinks Putin will 'move in' on Ukraine
The BBC reported that US President Joe Biden has said he thinks his Russian President Vladimir Putin will "move in" on Ukraine, but does not want "full-blown war".
Asked at a news conference about the threat of a Russian invasion, he said: "My guess is he will move in, he has to do something."
But he warned that the Russian leader would pay a "serious and dear price" for "testing" the West.
The BBC said that White House officials later issued a statement clarifying the US position, after some reporters at the news conference questioned Mr Biden about whether the US would allow a small incursion into Ukraine following his comments.
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: "If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that's a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies."
Russia has made a raft of demands to Western governments, including that Ukraine should never join Nato and that the defensive alliance's military activities should be limited in member states including Poland.
Talks between the West and Russia last week failed to reach a breakthrough, with some of Moscow's demands rejected as non-starters.
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The BBC added that Russia seized and annexed the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine in 2014 after Ukrainians overthrew their pro-Russian president. Ever since, Ukraine's military has been locked in a war with Russian-backed rebels in areas of the east near Russia's borders.
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It noted that there are fears that the conflict, which has claimed 14,000 lives and caused at least two million people to flee their homes, may reignite and that Russia's military will cross the border.
Source: BBC
