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Transcript/ScriptBIDEN-UKRAINE
HEADLINE: White House Girds for Possible Russia Action in Ukraine
TEASER: Washington, NATO allies urge diplomatic solution as US puts troops on high alert, plans to evacuate US embassy personnel
PUBLISHED: Monday, 01/24/2022 at 10:25 p.m.
BYLINE: Anita Powell
DATELINE: the White House
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, Mia Bush
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 3:21
VID APPROVED BY: wpm
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Washington has put 8,500 military personnel on heightened alert for possible deployment to Europe and will evacuate some embassy personnel from Ukraine, as tensions rise between Russia and NATO countries over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued mobilization of troops near the Ukrainian border. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.]]
((NARRATOR))
Tensions are heating up along Ukraine’s frozen border as Russia moves more troops into position.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered military vehicles to Belarus’ southern border for joint drills next month — putting them within 75 kilometers ((47 miles)) of Ukraine’s capital.
The Biden administration stands ready to respond alongside its NATO partners, says press secretary Jen Psaki.
((Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary))
“While we can't get into the mind of President Putin, we are seeing the preparations that they're making at the border. We have been very clear and the president has been direct that military action by Russia could come at any point at any time. He said that last week as well. So we have been in conversations and discussions with eastern flank countries.”
((NARRATOR))
American reactions include alerting 8,500 U.S. troops to possible deployment to other NATO countries, and evacuations of some staff at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
U.S. President Joe Biden has not spoken on the matter in several days, ignoring questions shouted his way on Monday.
Later in the day, he held a call with top European, EU and NATO leadership, in which the parties emphasized their wish for a diplomatic resolution and discussed their “preparations to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia for such actions as well as to reinforce security on NATO’s eastern flank.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are readying for an invasion. And questioning the diplomatic process between the U.S. and Russia.
((SOT, Ukrainian, needs male VO))
((Volodymyr, Ukrainian Soldier (in Ukrainian)))
“It’s wrong when two countries (Russia and U.S.) discuss the future of another country. We also should take part in those talks."
((NARRATOR))
Russia watchers say Russia is trying to negotiate Ukraine’s future without involving Ukraine, which hasn’t been present in many of the high-level talks.
But analysts don’t think conflict is inevitable, partly because of the diplomatic efforts led largely by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
[[Radio: Andrew Lohsen, a fellow in the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, via Zoom]]
((Andrew Lohsen, Center for Strategic and International Studies))
“You know, this is still a confrontation that hasn't yet spilled over into open conflict. I think there's still the possibility to define an off-ramp, no matter how distant that possibility might seem sometimes. The fact is, we're still talking.”
((NARRATOR))
Blinken’s Russian counterpart said last week that Moscow did not expect a breakthrough from the latest round of talks but wanted a written response to its proposals, which included that NATO reduce some of its presence in Eastern Europe and bar Ukraine from entry to the security alliance.
Some Russia analysts say Putin is playing a long game.
[[Radio: Leon Aron, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, via Zoom]]
((Leon Aron, American Enterprise Institute))
“Putin is a judo enthusiast. And in judo, you very rarely win, contrary to the stereotype, you very rarely win by a throw, you win by the accumulation of points. // There is no knockout. He hasn't won. But look, he probed NATO, he tested it. // And NATO showed a great deal of wobbling and disjoint. Every time he does something or says something, the American president rushes to respond, or call or schedule a summit. // And there's so many other points that accumulated this way. And there's no doubt that he's winning.”
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile, at the Russian-Ukraine border, the wheels of war are turning.
((Anita Powell, VOA News, Washington))
