Ukrainian officials, GOP go after Biden’s remarks on ‘minor incursion’ into Ukraine

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden ignited a firestorm Wednesday when he said Russia will likely “move in” and invade Ukraine, but that a “minor incursion” short of an invasion of military forces would trigger debate among NATO about its response.

“I think what you’re going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades,” Biden said during a news conference at the White House. “And it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera.

“But if they actually do what they’re capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they invade Ukraine, and that our allies and partners are ready to impose severe costs and significant harm on Russia and the Russian economy,” he said.

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Biden later clarified that by “minor incursion” he was referring to a cyber attack or other action short of “major military forces coming across” into Ukraine. But he acknowledged that NATO members hold different views on how to respond to various destabilizing acts Russia could pursue.

“If there’s something where there’s Russian forces crossing the border, killing Ukrainian fighters, et cetera — I think that changes everything,” he said. “But it depends on what [Putin] does, to what extent we’re going to be able to get total unity on the NATO front.”

Immediately after the news conference, White House officials attempted to clean up Biden’s comments, with spokeswoman Jen Psaki noting in a statement that “the Russians have an extensive playbook of aggression short of military action, including cyberattacks and paramilitary tactics.”

The cleanup continued today, with Biden telling reporters that the US has to “be ready to respond” if Russia goes after Ukraine using non-overt military action. Notably, the US Treasury Department this morning announced sanctions against four Ukranian individuals, including two current members of parliament, that Washington claims are working on behalf of Russia to create a pretext for a Russian invasion.

But Biden’s remarks have already sparked outrage from Ukrainian officials, who view them as ceding ground to Russia.

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“We should not give Putin the slightest chance to play with quasi-aggression or small incursion operations,” said Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

This morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted a pointed rebuttal of Biden’s comments.

“We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations,” he said. “Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the President of a great power.”

In December, US intelligence sources told numerous media outlets that Russia is planning a potential invasion of Ukraine set for early this year, with a potential offensive that could include as many as 175,000 troops and 100 battalions.

So far, Russia has sent about 100,000 troops to the Ukrainian border and has amassed ships in the Azov Sea. Russia is also suspected of being at the heart of cyberattacks discovered earlier this month that targeted Ukrainian government agencies.

Stateside, GOP lawmakers pounced on Biden’s use of the phrase “minor incursion.”

““Let’s be clear, Mr. President: an invasion of another country is an invasion,” Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, the House Armed Services Committee’s top Republican, said in a statement.  There is no such thing as a ‘minor incursion’ into another country, especially when Russia already occupies large portions of Ukraine.”

Rogers also criticized the administration for “slow-rolling” lethal aid to Ukraine and not responding to Russian cyberattacks in the region with sanctions.

The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, also raised concerns about Biden’s messaging.

“This administration must be clear that ANY Putin move into Ukraine is unacceptable, and we should do more to impose costs on him,” he tweeted.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-TX., the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tweeted that Biden’s comments  “were nothing short of a disaster” and that they effectively “gave Vladimir #Putin the green light to launch a ‘minor incursion.’”

HASC member Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., stated that Biden’s comments show he is not serious about deterring further Russian invasion into Ukraine and could also “invite major incursions … in Taiwan” by China.