President Biden warned Americans who remain in Ukraine that they should get out of the country amid growing tensions along the border there as Russian President Vladimir Putin weighs whether to invade.
"American citizens should leave now," Biden told NBC News’ Lester Holt in a pre-taped interview that ran Thursday evening.
"It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization," Biden said. "We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly."
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Pentagon spokesman John Kirby addresses Russia ramping up its military readiness around Ukraine on 'The Story.'
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., gives his take on developing Russia-Ukraine tensions as military drills with Belarus begin.
{{#rendered}}NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that the current situation along Ukraine's border is a "dangerous moment for European security" as the "the number of Russian forces is going up [and] the warning time for a possible attack is going down."
Stoltenberg made the remark following a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Brussels, according to Politico.
"We must be prepared for the worst, while remaining strongly committed to finding a political solution," he also said.
“I believe that if we can keep a strong grip on the fundamentals, those fundamental principles that define our alliance, and combine strong deterrence with patient diplomacy, then we can find a way through this crisis,” Johnson told reporters during a press conference. “I honestly don’t think a decision [to attack] has yet been taken, but that doesn’t mean that it is impossible that something absolutely disastrous could happen very soon indeed. Our intelligence, I’m afraid to say, remains grim.”
Turkey’s support of Ukraine in the face of a possible invasion by Russia, despite recent troubles with Europe, highlights Germany’s hesitancy as tensions remain high.
"On the particular issue of Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine, I think Turkey’s playing a helpful role," James Anderson, undersecretary of defense for policy under former President Trump, told Fox News Digital. "They have stated quite clearly that they oppose any further Russian invasion of Ukraine. They have clearly stated their opposition to Russia’s intervention in Georgia a few years ago. Those statements are welcome."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in January approved the sale of drones to Ukraine and last week clearly stated Turkey’s willingness to "stand by … and help" Ukraine. Erdogan also stressed that "Turkey continues to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea," during a meeting last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
NATO member states have not deployed any troops to Ukraine, but they have provided assistance in the form of lethal aid, including missiles, drones and munitions. Germany, perhaps the most vital European member of NATO with its largest economy, shocked Kyiv when it provided just 5,000 helmets for Ukrainian troops, falling well short of the 100,000 helmets and protective vests requested.
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Russian and Belarusian soldiers will start their war games exercises on Thursday that will be attended by the Kremlin’s top military leaders.
A spokesman from the Kremlin told the BBC that the 10-day drill will be serious and the troops—which will include about 30,000 Russians—will be “confronted with unprecedented threats.”
Jen Psaki, the White House spokeswoman, told reporters that the exercises are “escalatory.”
The fear is that Russia—despite assurances—could use Belarus to stage a multi-front invasion. Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff in Russia, arrived in Belarus on Wednesday. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that the U.S. is not too alarmed about Gerasimov’s arrival. -Edmund DeMarche
{{#rendered}}Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has the latest on U.S. troops responding to the tensions between Russia and Ukraine on 'Your World.'
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