By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin By — Ali Rogin Ali Rogin Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/biden-issues-a-stark-warning-to-russia-and-a-rallying-cry-to-americans Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio President Biden on Tuesday appealed to Russia to pursue the path of diplomacy and laid down a stark warning to Moscow not to threaten the U.S. and its allies. He also told Americans a war in Ukraine could have economic consequences at home in the U.S. But Russia's military has now amassed 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s border, and is able to invade at any moment. Nick Schifrin reports. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Judy Woodruff: President Biden has put the nation on notice: A war in Ukraine, even without direct U.S. involvement, could be expensive for American consumers.This afternoon, the president again appealed to Russia's leadership to pursue the path of diplomacy, and he laid down a stark warning to Moscow not to threaten the U.S. and its allies.He also said that Russia's military has amassed 150,000 troops on Ukraine's border, able to invade at any moment. Nick Schifrin begins over coverage. Nick Schifrin: Today, President Biden laid down a warning to Russia, and a rallying cry to America. President Joe Biden: Let there be no doubt: If Russia commits this breach by invading Ukraine, responsible nations around the world will not hesitate to respond. We do not stand for freedom where it is at risk today, we will certainly pay a steeper price tomorrow. Nick Schifrin: Biden spoke just a few hours after Russian soldiers loaded tanks onto flatbeds for what the Russian military called relocation away from Ukraine's border.Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, Russian Ministry of Defense (through translator): Units of the western and southern military districts that have completed their missions will start moving back to their garrisons today. Nick Schifrin: But military analysts say these tanks were already away from the front, and it's not clear where they're going. They represent only a tiny number the Russian troops deployed all around Ukraine's southern, eastern, and northern borders.President Biden said today those troops could still invade. President Joe Biden: We have not yet verified that Russian military units are returning to their home bases. Indeed, our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position. And the fact remains, right now, Russia has more than 150,000 troops encircling Ukraine in Belarus and along Ukraine's border. Nick Schifrin: And for the first time, President Biden warned that any war in Ukraine could increase gas and oil prices in the U.S. President Joe Biden: To be clear, if Russia decides to invade, that would also have consequences here at home. But the American people understand that defending democracy and liberty is never without cost. Nick Schifrin: But Russian President Vladimir Putin also suggested today, while the U.S. and NATO hadn't met Russian demands, diplomacy remained alive. Vladimir Putin, Russian President (through translator): There are some points we are not only ready to discuss. In fact, it was we who suggested our partners discuss them, regarding European security, certain weapons systems, missiles, military transparency. Nick Schifrin: President Biden brought up the same issues and urged Putin to follow the diplomatic path. President Joe Biden: The United States has put on the table concrete ideas to establish a security environment in Europe. We're proposing new arms control measures, new transparency measures, new strategic stability measures.We will not sacrifice basic principles, though. Nations have a right to sovereignty and territorial integrity. They have the freedom to set their own course and choose with whom they will associate. Nick Schifrin: That is a reference to Ukraine's NATO ambitions. NATO has reinforced its eastern flank with U.S. and European soldiers, an attempt to deter any war in Ukraine from expanding into NATO. President Joe Biden: And make no mistake: The United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power.We are not seeking direct confrontation with Russia, though I have been clear that, if Russia targets Americans in Ukraine, we will respond forcefully.And if Russia attacks the United States or our Allies through asymmetric means, like disruptive cyberattacks against our companies or critical infrastructure, we are prepared to respond. Nick Schifrin: But Ukraine has long feared Russian cyberattacks.And, today, the Web sites of Ukraine's two largest state banks and the Foreign and Defense ministries were hacked. And, in Moscow, Russian lawmakers gave Putin more leverage. The lower chamber voted to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in Eastern Ukraine in the Donbass, Donetsk and Luhansk,Donetsk and Luhansk, here Russian-backed separatists have fought the Ukrainian military since 2014. Victor Volodatsky, Russian State Duma Member (through translator): Today, we don't trust the Kyiv regime. Ukraine is now led by fascists and supporters of Anglo-Saxon countries. By making this proposal, we do only one thing. We offer protection to the people. Nick Schifrin: U.S. officials fear that claim of protection could be used for offensive military action.Today, Putin was noncommittal. But, standing next to the German chancellor, he used specific language to say Russian allies were already being killed. Vladimir Putin, Russian President (through translator): In our assessment, what is happening now in the Donbass constitutes genocide. Nick Schifrin: As for the assessment of whether war is any less likely today, U.S. officials call the Russian messages mixed.For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin. Listen to this Segment Watch Watch the Full Episode PBS NewsHour from Feb 15, 2022 By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin is PBS NewsHour’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent. He leads NewsHour’s daily foreign coverage, including multiple trips to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion, and has created weeklong series for the NewsHour from nearly a dozen countries. The PBS NewsHour series “Inside Putin’s Russia” won a 2017 Peabody Award and the National Press Club’s Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence. In 2020 Schifrin received the American Academy of Diplomacy’s Arthur Ross Media Award for Distinguished Reporting and Analysis of Foreign Affairs. He was a member of the NewsHour teams awarded a 2021 Peabody for coverage of COVID-19, and a 2023 duPont Columbia Award for coverage of Afghanistan and Ukraine. Prior to PBS NewsHour, Schifrin was Al Jazeera America's Middle East correspondent. He led the channel’s coverage of the 2014 war in Gaza; reported on the Syrian war from Syria's Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian borders; and covered the annexation of Crimea. He won an Overseas Press Club award for his Gaza coverage and a National Headliners Award for his Ukraine coverage. From 2008-2012, Schifrin served as the ABC News correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2011 he was one of the first journalists to arrive in Abbottabad, Pakistan, after Osama bin Laden’s death and delivered one of the year’s biggest exclusives: the first video from inside bin Laden’s compound. His reporting helped ABC News win an Edward R. Murrow award for its bin Laden coverage. Schifrin is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a board member of the Overseas Press Club Foundation. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a Master of International Public Policy degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). @nickschifrin By — Ali Rogin Ali Rogin Ali Rogin is a correspondent for the PBS News Hour and PBS News Weekend, reporting on a number of topics including foreign affairs, health care and arts and culture. She received a Peabody Award in 2021 for her work on News Hour’s series on the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect worldwide. Rogin is also the recipient of two Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association and has been a part of several teams nominated for an Emmy, including for her work covering the fall of ISIS in 2020, the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017, the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2014, and the 2010 midterm elections.