U.S. President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on February 12 that the United States and its allies will "respond decisively" with "swift and severe costs on Russia" if it undertakes a "further invasion" of Ukraine.
Biden also told Putin that an invasion "would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing," according to a White House statement issued after the call.
The United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy in coordination with its allies and partners but "we are equally prepared for other scenarios," the statement concluded.
The Kremlin said Putin told Biden that the U.S. response to Russia's main security demands had not taken into account and that Moscow would respond soon.
Moscow is demanding guarantees from the West that NATO will not accept Ukraine and other former Soviet nations as members and that it will halt weapon deployments to Ukraine and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe.
The phone call took place amid "hysteria" in the West about an impending Russian invasion that he said was absurd, Kremlin official Yuri Ushakov said.
Ushakov said that Biden warned Putin of major potential sanctions but did not place special emphasis on them.
The call, which lasted about one hour, produced no fundamental change in the heightened tension over Russia's military buildup near Ukraine, said a senior U.S. administration official who spoke with reporters after the call.
It remains unclear if Russia is willing to pursue a diplomatic path and may proceed with military action, the official said. Russia has consistently denied that it plans military action against its neighbor.
Before talking to Biden, Putin had a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron. A Kremlin summary of the call suggested that little progress was made toward cooling down the tensions.
The Kremlin statement referred to “provocative speculations about an allegedly planned Russian ‘invasion’ of Ukraine.”
Macron’s office said the French president told his Russian counterpart that "sincere dialogue" is incompatible with an escalation of tensions.
Macron, who met with Putin in Moscow earlier this week, and the Russian leader "both expressed a desire to continue dialogue," the French presidency said.
The calls were arranged after U.S. officials said Russia has massed enough troops near Ukraine to launch a major invasion and urged all U.S. citizens to leave the country within 48 hours. The United States followed up those warnings by announcing on February 12 that it is has ordered nonemergency U.S. Embassy staff to leave Ukraine.
The Pentagon said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on the phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, to discuss Russia's troop buildup. Austin also ordered the temporary repositioning of National Guard troops out of Ukraine.
The estimated 150 members of the Florida National Guard were in the country “advising and mentoring Ukrainian forces,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Twitter
"This repositioning does not signify a change in our determination to support Ukraine's Armed Forces, but will provide flexibility in assuring allies and deterring aggression," Kirby said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on February 12 told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that a diplomatic path to resolving the crisis over Ukraine remains open but that it would require Moscow “to deescalate and engage in good-faith discussions,” the State Department said in a statement.
The statement added that Blinken “reiterated that should Moscow pursue the path of aggression and further invade Ukraine, it would result in a resolute, massive, and united transatlantic response.”
During the call, Lavrov accused the United States of waging a "propaganda campaign" about possible Russian aggression, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. In a readout of the phone call with Blinken, Lavrov also said that Washington and Brussels had ignored key Russian security demands.
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Blinken, who is on a trip to Southeast Asia, said the United States continues to see “very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving around Ukraine's borders."
Speaking at a press conference in Fiji, Blinken also expressed hope that Putin would choose diplomacy but said Washington would impose economic sanctions if Moscow invades.
"I continue to hope that he will not choose the path of renewed aggression and he'll chose the path of diplomacy and dialogue," Blinken told reporters. "But if he doesn't, we're prepared."
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White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan said on February 11 that U.S. intelligence now believes Putin could order an invasion before the Winter Olympics in Beijing end on February 20.
Sullivan said a major military operation against Ukraine could begin "any day now” and it is “likely to begin with aerial bombing and missile attacks that could obviously kill civilians."
He said such an air assault would make departures difficult. Therefore, any Americans still in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible. Sullivan spoke after Biden held a video call with transatlantic leaders and sought allied unity in the face of a worsening situation.
Biden also ordered the deployment of an additional 3,000 U.S. soldiers to NATO ally Poland. A statement from the Pentagon on February 11 said the troops should be in place by "early next week," joining some 1,700 soldiers who arrived in Poland at the start of the month.
Moscow insists it has no plans to attack Ukraine but has continued to make provocative military moves while also demanding guarantees from the West that NATO will not accept Ukraine and other former Soviet nations as members, that it halt weapon deployments there, and also roll back its forces from Eastern Europe.
Russia said on February 12 that it, too, has pulled some diplomatic staff out of Ukraine.
"Fearing possible provocations from the Kyiv regime or other countries, we have, indeed, decided to optimize staffing at Russian missions in Ukraine," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
The Ukrainian government, meanwhile, urged citizens on February 12 not to overreact, saying the country's armed forces are ready to repel any attack.
