White House no longer using ‘imminent’ to describe potential Russian invasion of Ukraine

The White House says it will no longer refer to the potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia ‘imminent’ after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky questioned the rhetoric last week.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the White House will not describe any possible Russian attacks on Ukraine ‘imminent.”

Paski said using the word “sent a message that (the Biden administration) weren’t intending to send, which was that we knew (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin had made a decision.” She continued, “I would say the vast majority of times I’ve talked about it, we said he could invade at any time. That’s true. We still don’t know that he’s made a decision.” 

Zelensky said in a statement last week regarding the US claim a Russian attack on Ukraine was imminent, “There is a feeling abroad that there is war here. That’s not the case.”

The White House’s decision to discontinue use of the word was followed by lawmakers in Congress and at the United Nations.

UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told NPR last week, “No, I would not say that we are arguing that it’s imminent because we’re still pursuing a diplomatic solution to give the Russians an off-ramp. Our hope is that this will work and that Putin will understand that war and confrontation is not the path that he wants to follow, but he wants to take a path at diplomacy.”

As Russia ramps up troop deployment along the Ukrainian border, the Biden administration has sent 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe to reinforce its commitment to its NATO allies in the region.