WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden on Friday said he is now convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the decision to invade Ukraine, but emphasized that room for diplomacy remains, CNN reported.
“As of this moment, I am convinced he’s made the decision, we have reason to believe that,” Biden said when asked if Putin had made the decision to invade Ukraine.
It was a notable change in position for the President, who previously stated he did not believe the Russian leader had made up his mind, but acknowledged his insights into Putin’s thinking were limited. He did note that he hoped diplomacy could de-escalate the situation, saying, “Diplomacy is always a possibility.”
Russian misinformation is building up to a false justification for Putin to make that move, Biden said, accusing Russia of ceasefire violations in the “rapidly escalating crisis.”
“Over the last few days, we’ve seen reports of a major uptick in violations of the ceasefire by Russian-backed fighters attempting to provoke Ukraine in the Donbas,” Biden said, pointing to multiple examples of disinformation that he said have been spread by Russian state media, including a “phony” claim of genocide in the Donbas region.
Biden said the claims by the Russians simply don’t make sense.
“It defies basic logic to believe the Ukrainians would choose this moment — with well over 150,000 troops arranged on its borders — to escalate a year-long conflict,” he said.
Earlier on Friday his White House announced it was blaming Russia for a massive cyberattack on Ukraine earlier in the week.
