Biden Warns Putin of ‘Severe Costs’ of Ukraine Invasion

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – JUNE 16: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) greets US President Joe Biden (R) during the US – Russia Summit 2021 at the La Grange Villa near the Geneva Lake, on June 16, 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland. U.S.President Joe Biden is meeting Russian President Putin in Geneva for the first time as presidents, on Wednesday. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Joe Biden told Russia’s Vladimir Putin that invading Ukraine would cause “widespread human suffering” and that the West was committed to diplomacy to end the crisis but “equally prepared for other scenarios.” Biden also told Putin the United States and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs” if the Kremlin attacked its neighbor. There was no suggestion that the hourlong call diminished the threat of an imminent war in Europe. The two presidents spoke a day after Biden’s national security adviser warned that U.S. intelligence shows that a Russian invasion could begin within days and before the Winter Olympics in Beijing end on Feb. 20.