The White House on Tuesday officially began calling Russia’s action in Ukraine an ‘invasion’, and has reportedly started imposing sanctions.
A Biden administration official made the declaration after Russian troops entered into Donbas, the area where two pro-Russia separatist regions Donetsk and Luhansk are located.
‘We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,’ principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told CNN. ‘An invasion is an invasion and that is what is underway.’
The Biden administration initially held back on calling the deployment of troops an invasion because it wanted to see what Russia was going to do. But the movement clearly indicated a new invasion, the official said.
‘The invasion has begun,’ a White House official also told Fox News. ‘So our sanctions response has begun.’
Invasion is a term that Biden said would result in severe sanctions against Moscow.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also seemed to refer to Russia’s action as an invasion in a tweet commenting on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision to halt the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline following Moscow’s move.
Biden ‘made clear that if Russia invaded Ukraine, we would action would act with Germany to ensure Nord Stream 2 does not move forward,’ Psaki said.
The US president is scheduled to provide an update on Russia and Ukraine at 1pm ET.
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