Biden says no U.S. or NATO troops will be sent to Ukraine if Russia invades

President Biden said Tuesday that no U.S. or NATO troops will be sent into Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion, which Biden said would be "the largest invasion since World War II," CNN reported.

Speaking to reporters while visiting a small D.C. clothing store, Biden said he would consider personally sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin if he invaded Ukraine.

NATO countries have sent fighter jets and ships to Eastern Europe, Eastern European NATO members are funneling U.S.-made anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons into Ukraine, and the Pentagon has placed around 8,500 U.S. troops on high alert.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Last week, the United Kingdom sent 2,000 anti-tank missile launchers into Ukraine along with 30 elite British troops to train the Ukrainian military on how to use them.

Senior Pentagon and Biden administration officials have also considered backing an anti-Russian insurgency inside Ukraine if Russia invades.

Foreign policy analyst Clint Ehrlich warned in a Twitter thread earlier this month that such a strategy assumes "NATO can kill Russian soldiers with impunity … [a]nd that there is no real risk of Russia retaliating."

Ehrlich went on to envision a scenario in which Russia struck back by funding, training, and arming its own "insurgencies inside NATO member states," a move that could easily escalate into full-scale war.