Washington:
President of the United States of America, Joe Biden has issued a fresh warning to Russia that it will have to “pay a heavy price” if its military move across the Ukrainian border which will be considered an “invasion”.
Biden’s “warning” comes days after Russia amassed tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian borders hinting at launching an invasion. “Let there be no doubt at all that if Putin makes this choice, Russia will pay a heavy price,” the US president warned, a day after he predicted that Russia “will move in” on Ukraine and warned of a “disaster for Russia”.
“If any assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion and would be met with a severe and coordinated economic response that I’ve discussed in detail with our allies and laid out very clearly for President Putin,” he added.
Alleging that Russia has a long history of using measures other than overt military action to carry out aggression, Biden also stressed being prepared about cyberwar, “grey-zone” attacks, and actions by Russian soldiers not wearing their own uniforms
“Remember when they moved into the Donbas with ‘Little Green Men’? They were dealing with those who were Russian sympathisers and said that Russia had nobody in there,” he said.
Soldiers in unmarked uniforms, dubbed “little green men” by some, had swept Crimea in 2014 laying the ground for annexation by Russia.
“We have to be ready to respond to these in a united way with a range of tools at our disposal,” Biden said.
Russia is reported to have 100,000 troops at the border but denies planning to invade Ukraine. PTI