President Joe Biden updated the country on the situation with Ukraine amid heightened tensions as the U.S. works with allies to try and stop a potentially bloody conflict amid Russian troop build-up and as the threat of a possible invasion of Ukraine looms.
"Russia, you are not our enemy, and I do not believe you want a bloody destructive war against Ukraine," President Biden said on Tuesday.
The president said, "If Russia attacks Ukraine it would be a war of choice," going on to say that a conflict would be without reason.
The U.S. has taken steps to try and quell a potential invasion and any conflict, including sending thousands of U.S. troops to strategic locations in the region and warning any U.S. citizens to leave the country immediately. President Biden is expected to remark on what further steps the U.S. is prepared to take and what impact this all is having on the United States.
In recent weeks Russia has managed to amass more than 100,000 troops on the border of Ukraine. Russia's President Putin denies that Russia is planning an invasion and instead has laid out a series of security measures they say will keep Europe safer.
The White House said that the U.S. remains committed and open to high-level diplomacy and is working with allies to build "multiple diplomatic off-ramps" which the U.S. says have been offered to Russia.