President Joe Biden on Thursday took time to clarify his statements a day earlier that appeared to suggest that a “minor” attack by Russia on Ukraine could elicit a lesser U.S. response.

And Vice President Kamala Harris also took to the morning show circuit Thursday to clean up the remarks.

“I've been absolutely clear with President Putin. He has no misunderstanding. If any — any — assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion," the president said Thursday as he opened a meeting of the Infrastructure Implementation Task Force.

Harris echoed his threat of a swift and strong response.

“What I can tell you is that the president has been very clear that if Russia takes aggressive action, it will be met with serious, severe and a unified response and consequences,” Harris told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

During a news conference Thursday, Biden predicted that Russia, which has amassed 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, will invade Ukraine. Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country would pay a “dear price” in lives lost and a possible cutoff from the global banking system if it does. But in discussing a lack of consensus among NATO members, Biden raised eyebrows when he said a “minor incursion” might result in “a fight about what to do and not do” in response. 

The president later sought to clarify that he was referring to a non-military action, such as a cyberattack.

"Russia has a long history of using measures other than overt military action to carry out aggression and paramilitary tactics, so-called gray zone attacks and actions by Russian soldiers not wearing Russian uniforms," he explained. "We have to be ready to respond to these as well in a decisive, united way."

But his Wednesday remarks elicited a barrage of criticism at home that he was not being tough enough on Russia and raised the specter of possible divisions abroad.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said Biden effectively “gave Putin a green light to invade Ukraine by yammering about the supposed insignificance of a ‘minor incursion.’”

“He projected weakness, not strength,” Sasse said.

In an interview with NBC’s “Today” show, Harris was asked if there was any amount of land Russia could take that would result in Biden not seeking the most severe sanctions he’s threatened.

“Our interpretation of any country — in this case Russia and Vladimir Putin — denying or violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine will be interpreted as aggressive action, and it will be met with a severe cost. Period,” the vice president said.

About an hour after Biden’s news conference, the White House was already in damage control, issuing a statement that, too, stressed if Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border “it will be met with swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies.”

“Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, however, asked Harris if the statement was enough. 

“Is Vladimir Putin likely to listen to a later statement from the White House press secretary or the words of President Biden?” Guthrie asked.

Harris reiterated that Biden is committed to taking serious action and that he’s been consistent and clear about that in talks with allies and Russia all along.

“I'm Vice President of the United States, and the president and I work closely together,” she said. “And I know his position because he has been consistent in that regard.”

If Russia invades, Biden said, one action under consideration was limiting Russian transactions in U.S. financial institutions, including “anything that involves dollar denominations." Biden was referring to potentially limiting Russia's access to “dollar clearing” — the conversion of payments by banks on behalf of clients into U.S. dollars from rubles or other foreign currency, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly.

“He’s never seen sanctions like the ones I promised will be imposed if he moves, No. 1,” Biden warned. “This is not all just a cake walk for Russia,” Biden said. “They’ll pay a stiff price immediately" and in the medium and long term "if they do it.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday. On Wednesday, Blinken met with Ukraine’s president in Kyiv and he headed to Berlin on Thursday for talks with allies.

“If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border and commit new acts of aggression against Ukraine, that will be met with a swift, severe, united response from the United States and our allies and partners,” Blinken told a news conference with his German counterpart.

Later, Blinken accused Russia of threatening the foundations of world order with its buildup of an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine. He said Russia must face a concerted and severe global response if it invades.

The stark warning was delivered in Berlin, the city that symbolized the Cold War split between East and West, as Blinken prepares to meet Friday in Geneva with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a high-stakes bid to ease tensions that appears likely to fail.

“These are difficult issues we are facing, and resolving them won’t happen quickly,” Blinken said. “I certainly don’t expect we’ll solve them in Geneva tomorrow.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday similarly attempted to quell concerns about tensions in the region, saying U.S. allies "know exactly what the president's position is" when it comes to Russia and Ukraine.

"We have been engaged closely and working in lockstep with [our allies] for weeks on the rising military incursion or threat posed by Russia, so they know exactly where they stand," she told reporters. "They have they always have and they certainly do today."

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to respond to Biden's comments in a Twitter post Thursday, writing: "We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones."

"I say this as the President of a great power," Zelenskyy added.

Biden reiterated Wednesday that he did not think that Putin has made a final decision on whether to invade, but speculated "my guess is he will move in."

Meanwhile, Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Wall Street Journal said that Biden's comments underestimate Russia's aggression towards the country, but added that they believe Biden is "committed to Ukraine."

"Speaking of minor and full incursions or full invasion, you cannot be half-aggressive. You’re either aggressive or you’re not aggressive," Kuleba told the Journal. "We should not give Putin the slightest chance to play with quasi-aggression or small incursion operations."

"This aggression was there since 2014, Kuleba added. "This is the fact."

However, Kuleba told the outlet, "we in Ukraine have no doubt that President Biden is committed to Ukraine."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.