WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2022) The Biden administration recently stopped using the word "imminent" to describe the possibility of a Russian "invasion" of Ukraine because they are unsure whether President Vladimir Putin has decided to attack, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.
"I used that (word) once, I think others have used that once, and then we stopped using it because I think it sends a message that we weren't intending to send, which was that we knew that President Putin had made a decision. 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," Psaki said when asked about her use of the word. "I think I used it once last week. I haven't in over a week."
Russia has repeatedly denied US allegations of prepping an invasion of Ukraine, and has criticized NATO's provocative military buildup in the region.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov in January urged officials and media to reduce tensions since it is not completely clear that there is any reason for panic.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy likewise said in January that he sees the current escalation of tensions as no worse than it was before and believes that the severity of the situation is being exaggerated.
