President Joe Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin via phone on Saturday, warning him that the U.S. and its allies "will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs" if Russia invades Ukraine.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke via phone on Saturday amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine

  • Biden warned Putin that the U.S. and its allies "will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs" if Russia invades Ukraine

  • Officials on Friday said that a Russian invasion into Ukraine is now an “immediate” threat and could happen before next Sunday

  • Another 3,000 U.S. troops will depart from Fort Bragg to station in Poland

"President Biden was clear that, if Russia undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States together with our Allies and partners will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia," the White House said in a readout of Biden's call with Putin. "President Biden reiterated that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing."

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

The call came one day after U.S. officials warned that a Russian invasion into Ukraine is an “immediate” threat and could happen “at any time,” even before the end of the Beijing Olympics.

“We are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time,” said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan from the White House briefing room on Friday.

Administration officials previously indicated an invasion was unlikely to happen until after the Olympic games, which end on Feb. 20.

“It could begin during the Olympics despite a lot of speculation that it will only happen after,” he added, pointing to signs of Russian military escalation. 

Sullivan called on Americans within Ukraine to leave within “the next 24 to 48 hours” while commercial flight options are available and roads are open within the country, emphasizing that President Joe Biden would not send in troops to evacuate Americans.

“We don't know exactly what is going to happen. But the risk is now high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that this is what prudence demands,” he added. “If you stay, you are assuming risk, with no guarantee that there will be any other opportunities.”

U.S. officials are still hoping that a diplomatic solution can still prevail, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier Saturday.

"I spoke with Foreign Minister Lavrov today to urge a diplomatic resolution to Russia’s unprovoked military build-up around Ukraine," Blinken wrote on Twitter Saturday morning. "I reiterated that further Russian aggression would be met with a resolute, massive and united Transatlantic response."

Most American staff at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv have been ordered to leave and other U.S. citizens should also leave the country as soon as possible, according to a State Department travel advisory.

"On February 12, 2022, the Department of State ordered the departure of most U.S. direct hire employees from Embassy Kyiv due to the continued threat of Russian military action," the bulletin reads. "U.S. citizens should not travel to Ukraine, and those in Ukraine should depart immediately using commercial or other privately available transportation options."

"If remaining in Ukraine, exercise increased caution due to crime, civil unrest, and potential combat operations should Russia take military action," the State Department warned.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also spoke to his Russian counterpart, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, via telephone on Saturday.

The United States military will also now send an additional 3,000 troops from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to Poland, a senior defense official confirmed on Friday, and they are expected to be in place by early next week.

In total, nearly 5,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team will be deployed in Poland to "reassure our NATO allies, deter any potential aggression against NATO’s eastern flank, train with host-nation forces and contribute to a wide range of contingencies," the official added.

NSA Sullivan on Friday said a Russian invasion was now a “distinct possibility” but did not confirm reporting that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a decision to invade. He said he wasn't aware that Putin had made a final call.

An invasion could include a direct and rapid assault on the capital city of Kyiv, he added, and it is likely to begin with “aerial bombing and missile attacks.”

Biden, who traveled to Camp David in Maryland on Friday, also spoke with a number of foreign leaders earlier in the day to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, including the United Kingdom's Boris Johnson, Canada's Justin Trudeau, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg.

Asked about the evidence that a Russian invasion could be imminent, NSA Sullivan pointed to the continued buildup of more than 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine’s border over the last few months and its military escalation in recent days, something that is “out there in the open for people to see.”

“We are trying to stop a war,” partly by sharing the latest U.S. assessment of the situation," Sullivan said.