WASHINGTON, January 20. /TASS/. The US will consider any movement of the Russian forces across the Ukrainian border as a "renewed invasion", White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced on Thursday.
"President Biden has been clear with the Russian President: If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that is a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies," the statement reads.
At the same time, Psaki mentioned that Russia had "an extensive playbook of aggression short of military action, including cyberattacks and paramilitary tactics." "And [Biden] affirmed today that those acts of Russian aggression will be met with a decisive, reciprocal, and united response."
In turn, a high-ranking US administration official told Reuters that any Russia’s military move towards Ukraine would trigger tough economic response from the US. Hence, the US is ready to consider imposing sanctions on Russia’s largest financial institutions. The US official also pointed out that Washington was studying all possible kinds of penalties against Moscow if it moved into Ukraine.
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded," serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have very serious consequences.