Biden warns American citizens in Ukraine to ‘leave now’

US President Joe Biden on Thursday urged American citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, and warned about potential major conflict with Moscow should US and Russian troops engage each other on the ground.

“American citizens should leave, should leave now,” Biden said in an interview with NBC News.

“We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly,” the president said.

Biden also reiterated that under no circumstances would he send US troops to Ukraine, even to rescue Americans in case of a Russian invasion.

“That’s a world war. When Americans and Russians start shooting one another, we’re in a very different world,” he said.

Washington-Moscow tensions are at their highest since the Cold War, with some US estimates saying some 130,000 Russian soldiers are grouped in dozens of combat brigades near the border with Ukraine.

Western leaders have been conducting shuttle diplomacy in an effort to ease frayed nerves. But Biden’s comments — and the State Department also on Thursday renewing its warning for Americans citizens to leave — are almost certain to ramp up tensions anew.

Biden however dismissed the scenario of having to rescue Americans in Ukraine, saying “how do you even find them?”

“What I’m hoping is that if (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is foolish enough to go in, he’s smart enough not to in fact do anything that would negatively impact American citizens.”

Biden said he would not have to tell that to Putin, adding: “he knows that.”

US warns Russia could invade Ukraine within days

The White House warned Friday that a major Russian assault on Ukraine, presaged by aerial bombings and missile attacks, could begin in days and told Americans there to leave within 48 hours in a dramatic elevation of the war threat level.

“We continue to see signs of Russian escalation including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border,” said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, warning US officials now believe Moscow may not delay an invasion — as some had suggested — until after the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“Our view that military action could occur any day now, and could occur before the end of the Olympics is only growing in terms of its robustness,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House, calling such a scenario “a very, very distinct possibility.”

Sullivan stopped short of saying the United States now believes President Vladimir Putin has actually made the decision to attack. 

Still, the White House’s tone and language on the possibility of war in Europe were much more pointed and strident than just days ago.

With more than 100,000 Russian troops and an array of military materiel amassed on the border with its pro-western neighbor, Sullivan urged Americans in Ukraine to get out quickly, while they can.

“An invasion could begin at any time should Vladimir Putin decide to order it,” he said. ” “It could begin during the Olympics.”

“If a Russian attack on Ukraine proceeds, it is likely to begin with aerial bombing and missile attacks that could obviously kill civilians,” he added.

Biden has already spoken to Putin twice and warned of severe economic sanctions against Russia if it invades, and Sullivan said he expects the two leaders to speak again.