Biden says he is ‘convinced’ of Russia invasion into Kyiv in coming days

• US President Joe Biden said that he is “convinced” a Russian invasion into Ukraine is likely.
• Biden said that he was briefed about intelligence that an attack could happen in the “coming days.”
• He also accused Russia of setting “up a false justification to act against Ukraine.”

At a press conference on Friday, US President Joe Biden said that he was “convinced” that Russian President Vladimir Putin would launch an attack into Ukraine in the coming days.

“As of this moment, I’m convinced he’s made the decision. We have reason to believe that,” Biden said at the conference, which came after his call with European leaders. 

“We believe that they will target Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million innocent people,” Biden said. “We’re calling out Russia’s plans loudly, repeatedly, not because we want a conflict, but because we’re doing everything in our power to remove any reason that Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine and prevent them from moving.” 

When pressed after his remarks, Biden said that the determination had been made because of the US’s “significant intelligence capability,” and that the invasion would likely take place in the “coming days.”

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Biden also accused Russia of pushing disinformation “to set up a false justification to act against Ukraine.” On Thursday, he also accused Russia of orchestrating a false flag operation and said that the likelihood of a Russian incursion in the coming days was “very high.”

At the end of Friday’s conference, Biden said that efforts to avert the attack were still on the table.

“Diplomacy is always a possibility,” Biden told reporters, adding that if Russia were to attack, those channels would shutter.

The White House did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

On Tuesday, Russia claimed that it was taking steps to reduce its troop presence along the border of Ukraine.

That same day, Biden said the total number of Russian troops along the Ukraine border had swelled to 150,000. The following day, a senior US official revealed that Russia had deployed close to 7,000 additional troops, possibly part of Biden’s stated figure, to positions along the border with Ukraine.

And as the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine looms large, new satellite images taken this week show the construction of new roads and an apparent pontoon bridge over the Pripyat River at a position in Belarus just a few miles from the Ukrainian border.