Ukraine president pushes back on Biden's choice of words: 'There are no minor incursions'

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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Thursday slapped back at comments made by President Biden during a news conference, during which he suggested the size of a Russian invasion could alter how the U.S. and NATO respond.

“We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations,” Zelenskyy said in tweet. “Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. 

“I say this as the President of a great power,” he added.

The Ukrainian president’s comments appear to be in direct response to Biden saying that action by NATO following a Russian incursion “depends” on the size of the invasion. 

“Russia will be held accountable if it invades,” Biden said Wednesday evening. “And it depends on what it does.”  

President Joe Biden delivers remarks from the White House.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera,” he continued. “But if they actually do what they’re capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine.”

The president was then questioned by reporters if the U.S. and NATO would not respond with sanctions should Russia carry out a “minor incursion.”

Biden did not directly clarify his meaning. Instead, the president warned that severe sanctions on Russia and its Nord Stream 2 pipeline would have economic repercussions for not just the Kremlin, but for the U.S. and its European allies. 

Biden also said that not all NATO member nations have agreed to slap Russia with tough sanctions if it does invade the former Soviet nation.

“The most important thing to do: Big nations can’t bluff, number one,” the president said. “And number two, the idea that we would do anything to split NATO, which would be a — have a profound impact on one of — I think prominent impact — on one of Putin’s objectives is to weaken NATO — would be a big mistake.

“But it depends on what he does, as to…what extent we’re going to be able to get total unity…on the NATO front,” he added. 

President Joe Biden delivers remarks from White House.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The White House later clarified its position in a statement that warned the Kremlin against “any” incursion. 

“If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that’s a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies,” the statement by White House press secretary Jen Psaki read.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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