Biden to convene National Security Council meeting on Ukraine

President Biden will be convening a National Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Sunday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Saturday.

“President Biden continues to monitor the evolving situation in Ukraine, and is being updated regularly about events on the ground by his national security team. They reaffirmed that Russia could launch an attack against Ukraine at any time,” she said.

Psaki also added that the president had received an update on Vice President Harris’s meetings at the Munich Security Conference.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted earlier on Saturday that he had an “urgent conversation” with French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Informed about the aggravation on the frontline, our losses, the shelling of politicians & international journalists. Discussed the need and possible ways of immediate de-escalation & political-diplomatic settlement,” Zelensky said.

The development comes as officials estimate that up to 190,000 Russian troops have been amassed near the Ukrainian border. Earlier this week, Russia claimed that it had pulled back some of its troops, but NATO and U.S. officials said it appeared that Russia was doing the opposite.

During the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, U.S. officials reiterated that Russia would pay steep consequences if it invaded Ukraine.

“Let me be clear, I can say with absolute certainty if Russia further invades Ukraine the United States, together with our allies and partners, will impose significant, and unprecedented economic costs,” Harris said in prepared remarks. 

“There is a price to pay,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said during a press briefing. “If [Russian President Vladimir Putin] decides to [invade], it won’t be a long time for the Russian people, sadly, to feel the impact of the [sanctions because of] insecure decisions being made by their president.”