Biden administration reportedly weighs U.S. backing for Ukraine insurgents should Russia invade

The Biden administration is weighing whether the United States could back insurgents in Ukraine should Russian President Vladimir Putin invade, The Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reports.

The report cites a "knowledgeable official" and describes how the administration is studying whether the U.S. could provide weapons, potentially including anti-aircraft missiles, and "other support to the Ukrainian military to resist invading Russian forces," as well as "similar logistical support to insurgent groups if Russia topples the Ukrainian government and a guerrilla war begins."

According to the Post, a Biden administration task force is examining how assistance could be provided in a way that wouldn't violate any domestic or international laws.

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President Biden previously said that sending U.S. troops to Ukraine is "not on the table," CNN reports. He also said he warned Putin that should the Russian president invade Ukraine, "there will be severe ... economic consequences like none he's ever seen or ever have been seen."

Russia has been continuing to amass troops near the border with Ukraine, CNN reports. "The Biden administration still sees a window to deter a Russian invasion, assessing that Putin has not yet decided whether to launch an attack," CNN writes.

A senior administration official told reporters that the U.S. is "preparing the severe consequences that would result if Russia decides to take the path of further aggression," which "largely" include "economic and financial measures," but they added that the U.S. is also "prepared to consider a number of things that we have not considered in the past." Read more at The Washington Post.