White House has stopped describing Russian invasion as 'imminent,' following rhetoric gripes from Ukraine
The White House has backed off describing the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine as "imminent," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday, explaining that the word sends an unintended message, per CNN's Kevin Liptak.
The switch-up in language arrives after multiple reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian security officials wanted the U.S. to tone down its war rhetoric, fearful that officials' remarks were doing more harm than good.
"When they start saying that tomorrow, you're going to have war, just take into consideration that the first thing we do not need in our country is panic," the head of Ukraine's security council told The New York Times last week. "Why? Because panic is the sister of failure."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Also, as Politico pointed out on Friday, there is no direct translation in Ukrainian for "imminent" — the Ukrainian word that most closely correlates is akin to "no matter what" or "inevitable." So though President Biden might have been trying to say "an invasion could happen any day now," Team Zelensky may have been hearing, "there will be an invasion no matter what."
On Wednesday, Psaki conceded that she had used the word once when discussing the standoff, but would no longer be using it going forward, CNN notes.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Top Russian general killed in Moscow blast
Speed Read A remote-triggered bomb killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine assassinations: what is Kyiv hoping to achieve?
Today's Big Question Ukrainian security services are thought to be responsible for a string of high-profile deaths inside Russia
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
NATO chief urges Europe to arm against Russia
Speed Read Mark Rutte said Putin wants to 'wipe Ukraine off the map' and might come for other parts of Europe next
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'
Speed Read The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced an interim government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Could Russia's faltering economy end the war?
Today's Big Question Sanctions are taking a toll. So could an end to combat.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published