As The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Looms, Biden Considers Sanctions And Military Aid.
President Biden said Friday that he is working on a strategy to counter a Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is becoming increasingly likely. Although the president did not give specifics, many believe his response will involve greater economic penalties against Russia as well as military assistance to Ukraine.
On the Ukrainian border, over 94,000 Russian troops have gathered. According to newly leaked US intelligence papers obtained by The Washington Post, the invasion may take place as early as January 2022, with 175,000 troops involved. Russian President Vladimir Putin has requested written guarantees that Ukraine would not be admitted to NATO. The US, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, will not make such a guarantee.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told Reuters during a Friday press conference that the US is "committed to stand up decisively against any foolish or aggressive activities that Russia may pursue, as well as to safeguard the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine."
Since Friday, a recruitment ad that appears to have been issued recently by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has been widely reposted on Anglophone Twitter. The subtitled video depicts a sequence of troops in conflict zones turning to the camera and expressing some element of their lives outside of the military in repressed emotion: "I'm a bus driver," says the narrator. "I'm getting married soon." "I am a Shakhtar [Football Club] supporter."
The commercial concludes with a voiceover declaring, "None of us were born to fight. But we're all here to defend our liberties."
The video was shared with the caption by Luke Coffey, director of the conservative Heritage Foundation's Foreign Policy Center "That's some serious stuff. Ukraine, may God bless you!"