Biden fears a risk of Russian escalation in Ukraine

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Today, Thursday, US President Joe Biden, before leaving the White House for a short visit to Ohio, warned that "the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is very high," adding that a diplomatic solution with Russia to the Ukrainian crisis is still possible.

In a press conference, he stated that a Russian invasion could happen "in the coming days," noting that he had "no intention" of contacting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

He believed that all indications suspect Russia will enter Ukraine "to attack Ukraine."

It is noteworthy that Biden predicted a few days ago during a NATO meeting that Russia would attack Ukraine on February 16.

Earlier today, the United States of America received Russia's written response to proposals for negotiating security in Europe in order to defuse the crisis in Ukraine.

But the US President said, when asked about this point, "I have not reviewed the Russian response yet."

However, the US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price confirmed yesterday, Wednesday, that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is ready to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, at any time.

NATO: There is no clarity or certainty yet about Russia's intentions regarding Ukraine

At the same time, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance is not certain that Russia will launch an attack on Ukraine.

Stoltenberg believes that there is "no clarity or certainty" so far about Russia's intentions regarding Ukraine. 

He explained that NATO is mobilizing its efforts to prevent any possible attack on Ukraine, noting that "the Russian military forces are still present on the border with Ukraine based on our intelligence."

Stoltenberg claimed that satellite images confirm that Russia has not withdrawn its forces from the borders with Ukraine.

"So far we do not see any sign of de-escalation on the ground; no withdrawals of troops or equipment," he said

Several Western countries have accused Russia in recent months of preparing an "attack in Ukraine", based on allegations that Russia has increased the number of its soldiers in areas near the Ukrainian border to 125,000 people.

For its part, Moscow rejects all these accusations, noting that the transfer of its forces in its territory is an internal matter.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, accused the United States of "running the media campaign about the so-called (the imminent Russian invasion) of Ukraine."