A call between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday “did not go well,” a senior Ukrainian official told CNN, amid disagreements over the “risk levels” of a Russian attack.
The White House, however, disputed the official’s account, warning that anonymous sources were “leaking falsehoods.” They did state that Biden warned Zelensky an imminent invasion is a “distinct possibility.”
On the call, which the Ukrainian official described as “long and frank,” Biden warned his Ukrainian counterpart that a Russian attack may be imminent, saying that an invasion was now virtually certain, once the ground had frozen later in February, according to the official.
Zelensky, however, restated his position that the threat from Russia remains “dangerous but ambiguous,” and it is not certain that an attack will take place, the official said.
National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne disputed the senior Ukrainian official’s description of the call. “Anonymous sources are ‘leaking’ falsehoods,” she told CNN.
“President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February. He has said this publicly and we have been warning about this for months. Reports of anything more or different than that are completely false.”
The frank discussion between the two leaders comes as the US and NATO continue to brace for the prospect of a Russian invasion. Though they have stressed the need for diplomacy, the White House has warned an invasion could be imminent with tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border.
The call lasted an hour and 20 minutes Thursday, according to a US national security official, highlighting the extensive issues the two leaders had to discuss amid the Russian troop buildup. The official described the call as “long and serious,” but “productive,” as Biden and Zelensky discussed Russia’s recent aggressions.
Biden told Zelensky that US officials have assessed an invasion could potentially happen in February, but did not say it definitely would, the official said.
