Biden warns Putin of 'severe costs' to Russia if Ukraine invaded

U.S. President Joe Biden told Russia's Vladimir Putin that invading Ukraine would cause "widespread human suffering" and that the West was committed to diplomacy to end the crisis but "equally prepared for other scenarios," the White House said on Saturday.

The White Houseoffered no suggestion that the hour-long call diminished the threat of an imminent war in Europe.

Biden also said the United States and its allies would respond "decisively and impose swift and severe costs" if the Kremlin attacked its neighbour, according to the White House.

The two leadersspoke the day after Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, warned that U.S. intelligence shows that a Russian invasion could begin within days, before the Winter Olympics in Beijing end on Feb. 20.

Russia denies it intends to invade but has amassed well over 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border and has sent troops to exercises in neighbouring Belarus, encircling Ukraine on three sides. U.S. officials say Russia's buildup of firepower has reached the point where it could invade on short notice.

Concerns beyond Ukraine's borders

The conversation came at a critical moment for what has become the biggest security crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. U.S. officials believe they have mere days to prevent an invasion and enormous bloodshed in Ukraine.

And while the U.S. and its NATO allies have no plans to send troops to Ukraine to fight Russia, an invasion and resulting punishing sanctions could reverberate far beyond the former Soviet republic, affecting energy supplies, global markets and the power balance in Europe.

"President Biden was clear with President Putin that while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full co-ordination with our allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios," the White House statement said.

WATCH |Russia could invade Ukraine before Olympics end, says U.S. intelligence:

Russia could invade Ukraine during Olympics: U.S. intelligence officials

3 years ago

Duration 1:59

U.S. intelligence officials say that Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an invasion of Ukraine before the end of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games on Feb. 20

The callwas "professional and substantive" but produced "no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks," according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters following the call on condition of anonymity.

The official added that it remains unclear whether Putin has made a final decision to move forward with military action.

Talks with France, too

Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top foreign policy aide, said that while tensions have been escalating for months, in recent days "the situation has simply been brought to the point of absurdity."

He said Biden mentioned the possible sanctions that could be imposed on Russia, but "this issue was not the focus during a fairly long conversation with the Russian leader."

Before talking to Biden, Putin had a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with him in Moscow earlier in the week to try to resolve the crisis. A Kremlin summary of the call suggested that little progress was made toward cooling down the tensions.

Putin complained in the call that the U.S.and the North Atlantic Treaty Organizationhave not responded satisfactorily to Russian demands that Ukraine be prohibited from joining the military alliance and that NATO pull back forces from eastern Europe.

In a sign that American officials are getting ready for a worst-case scenario, the U.S.announced plans to evacuatemost of its staff from the embassy in the Ukrainian capital, and Britain joined other European nations in urging its citizens to leave Ukraine. Canada has temporarily shuttered its diplomatic missionin Kyiv.

Australia alsosaidit was evacuating its embassy in Kyiv, andPrime Minister Scott Morrison called on China to not remain "chillingly silent" on the crisis.

The timing of any possible Russian military action remained a key question.

Ukrainian leader tries to projectcalm

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he told his Russian counterparton Saturday that "further Russian aggression would be met with a resolute, massive and united trans-Atlantic response."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskytried to project calm as he observed military exercises on Saturday near Crimea, the peninsula that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

"We are not afraid, we're without panic, all is under control," he said.

Ukrainian armed forces chief commander Lt.-Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny and Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov issued a more defiant joint statement.

"We are ready to meet the enemy, and not with flowers, but with Stingers, Javelins and NLAWs" anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, they said. "Welcome to hell!"

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, also held telephone discussions on Saturday.

Further U.S.-Russia tensions arose on Saturday when the Defence Ministry summoned the U.S. Embassy's military attach after it said the navy detected an American submarine in Russian waters near the Kuril Islands in the Pacific.

The submarine declined orders to leavebut departed after the navy used unspecified "appropriate means," the ministry said.

The U.S. military deniedthe Russian claims about carrying out operations in Russian waters.

"There is no truth to the Russian claims of our operations in their territorial waters," U.S. military spokespersonCapt.Kyle Raines said in a statement.

"I will not comment on the precise location of our submarines, but we do fly, sail and operate safely in international waters," the statement added.