President Joe Biden will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Thursday to discuss Russias military buildup on its border with Ukraine
President Joe Biden will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Thursday to discuss Russia’s military buildup on its border with Ukraine, according to the White House. Afterward, Biden will call the leaders of the Bucharest Nine group, allies on the eastern flank of NATO, to brief them on his virtual meeting Tuesday with President Vladimir Putin and listen to their concerns. The Bucharest Nine consists of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Earlier Wednesday, Biden said he would not order the deployment of American troops to Ukraine to counter a possible Russian invasion of that country. « That is not on the table, » Biden told reporters on the White House South Lawn. « The idea the United States is going to unilaterally use force to confront Russia invading Ukraine is not in the cards right now. But what will happen is there will be severe consequences that will happen. » Biden’s remarks came one day after meeting virtually for two hours with Putin. Following that meeting, he said the United States and its European allies have « deep concerns » about Moscow massing troops near the border it shares with Ukraine and would respond with « strong » economic sanctions if Russia invaded the country.
