The US is not going to fight Russia or deploy troops to fight it in Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. At the same time, she refused to make predictions about what day Russia would attack Ukraine, but noted that this could happen “at any moment.”
“I don’t know how many times I have to repeat this: there is no scenario in which the president sends American troops to fight in Ukraine against Russia … We will not fight Russia and will not deploy troops in Ukraine to fight Russia,” she assured during a regular briefing (quote from RIA Novosti).
At the same time, the White House does not doubt the possibility of a Russian attack on Ukraine. “It could happen at any time. They have been in an attacking position for some time, but I am not ready to give you a specific day and hour when this can happen,” said Ms. Psaki. In her opinion, Russia was not ready for Western countries to show such solidarity in response to its actions. “Our assessment now is that he (Russian President Vladimir Putin.—” Kommersant “) improvises and adapts,” she said.
Ms. Psaki also said that a meeting between Russian Presidents Vladimir Putin and the United States Joe Biden is not being considered at this stage of the development of events, but the United States remains ready for contacts with Russia. “The president himself and we have made it clear that if they (RF. —“ Kommersant ”) did not invade, we would be open to contact with President Putin after the communication between the Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Lavrov,” the White House press secretary said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the DPR and LPR on February 21. In response, Western countries imposed sanctions against the Russian political elite and big business.
For more information on how the sanctions have affected the Russian economy, see Kommersant’s article “The budget swells from sanctions.”