{"id":54163,"date":"2022-02-22T15:57:34","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T15:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/02\/22\/an-invasion-is-an-invasion-white-house-now-says-of-russian-troops-in-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:02:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:02:00","slug":"an-invasion-is-an-invasion-white-house-now-says-of-russian-troops-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/2022\/02\/22\/an-invasion-is-an-invasion-white-house-now-says-of-russian-troops-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018An invasion is an invasion\u2019 White House now says of Russian troops in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House on Tuesday began referring to Russian troop deployments in eastern Ukraine as <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/russia-ukraine\">an \u201cinvasion\u201d <\/a>after initially hesitating to use the term \u2014 a red line that President Joe Biden has said would result in the U.S. levying severe sanctions against Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several European leaders said earlier in the day that Russian troops have moved into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s recognized their independence \u2014 but some indicated it was not yet the long-feared, full-fledged invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later, the White House signaled a shift in its own position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia\u2019s latest invasion into Ukraine,\u201d said Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser. \u201cAn invasion is an invasion and that is what is underway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House decided to begin referring to Russia\u2019s actions as an \u201cinvasion\u201d because of the situation on the ground, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The administration resisted initially calling the deployment of troops because the White House wanted to see what Russia was actually going to do. After assessing Russian troop movements, it became clear it was a new invasion, the official added.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2022\/02\/21\/putin-orders-russian-troops-into-eastern-ukraine-as-biden-blocks-us-trade-there\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PutinUKR4.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Putin orders Russian troops into eastern Ukraine as Biden blocks US trade there<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Biden administration didn&#039;t immediately specify what red lines will prompt additional U.S. response to Putin&#039;s move to send troops to the separatist regions in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White House press secretary Jen Psaki also alluded to the Russian action as being an invasion in a twitter post commenting on Germany chancellor Olaf Scholz decision to halt the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in response to Russia\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. president \u201cmade clear that if Russia invaded Ukraine, we would action would act with Germany to ensure Nord Stream 2 does not move forward,\u201d Psaki said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent weeks, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered 4,700 members of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/02\/09\/82nd-airborne-could-welcome-american-evacuees-in-case-of-ukraine-invasion\/\">82nd Airborne Division<\/a> to deploy to Poland as a show of support to NATO allies. Another 300 soldiers from the XVIII Airborne Corps made their way to Germany, while 1,000 soldiers from the Germany-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment went to Romania. In addition, there are more than 20 Navy vessels in theater and numerous Air Force assets flying over and around Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For weeks, Western powers have been bracing for an invasion as Russia massed an estimated 150,000 troops on three sides of neighboring Ukraine. They warned an attack would cause massive casualties, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-climate-business-russia-europe-a4e956253d3640084f8bdfaa2c901be8\">energy shortages in Europe <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-business-asia-tokyo-europe-e6b1a6678833d81272b2dd7b130aa25a\">economic chaos around the globe <\/a>\u2014 and promised swift and severe sanctions if it materialized. The European Union and Britain announced Tuesday that some of those measures were coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Western leaders have long warned Moscow would look for cover to invade \u2014 and just such a pretext appeared to come Monday, when Putin <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-joe-biden-boris-johnson-europe-emmanuel-macron-2b7c2949ae3168effce9d0cb2584bb32\">recognized as independent two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine<\/a>, where government troops <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-vladimir-putin-moscow-bcd0c04a2aa146e76b7e757f482f27bb\">have fought Russia-backed rebels<\/a> in a conflict that has killed over 14,000 people. The Kremlin then raised the stakes further Tuesday, by saying that recognition extends even to the large parts now held by Ukrainian forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has recognized the rebel regions\u2019 independence \u201cin borders that existed when they proclaimed\u201d their independence in 2014 \u2014 broad territories that extend far beyond the areas now under the rebel control and that include the major Black Sea port of Mariupol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Putin\u2019s move to recognize the territories\u2019 independence opened the door for him to formalize his hold on them and send forces in, though Ukraine and its Western allies have charged Russian troops have been fighting there for years. Moscow denies those allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"339\" height=\"226\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PutinUKR4.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54734\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PutinUKR4.jpg.jpg 339w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PutinUKR4.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 339px) 100vw, 339px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Ukrainian serviceman fires an NLAW anti-tank weapon during an exercise in the Joint Forces Operation, in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (AP Photo\/Vadim Ghirda)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Condemnation <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-business-asia-europe-united-nations-881717d75ad21662562dec7b5c8f43b0\">from around the world was quick.<\/a> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would consider breaking diplomatic ties with Russia and Kyiv recalled its ambassador in Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But confusion over what exactly was happening in eastern Ukraine threatened to hobble a Western response. While the U.S. clearly called it an invasion, some other allies hedged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRussian troops have entered in Donbas,\u201d the name for the area where the two separatist regions are located, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in Paris. \u201cWe consider Donbas part of Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in a distinction that could complicate a European and Western response, he added: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that (it is) a fully fledged invasion, but Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Poland\u2019s Defense Ministry and British Health Secretary Sajid Javid also said Russian forces had entered Ukraine\u2019s east, with Javid telling Sky News that \u201cthe invasion of Ukraine has begun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not all in Europe saw it that way. Spanish Foreign Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares noted \u201cif Russia uses force against Ukraine, sanctions will be massive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2022\/02\/20\/our-troops-will-be-fine-austin-says-of-us-forces-in-europe-amid-ukraine-threat\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7042241.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">\u2018Our troops will be fine,\u2019 Austin says of US forces in Europe amid Ukraine threat<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the United States will do its due diligence to protect American troops should Russia invade Ukraine.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Kremlin hasn\u2019t confirmed any troop deployments to the rebel east, saying it will depend on the security situation. Vladislav Brig, a member of the separatist local council in Donetsk, told reporters that the Russian troops already had moved in, but more senior rebel leaders didn\u2019t confirm that. Late Monday, convoys of armored vehicles were seen rolling across the separatist-controlled territories. It wasn\u2019t immediately clear if they were Russian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Ukraine military official told Military Times Monday night that Russian forces had entered the eastern part of the country after Putin\u2019s order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to the moves thus far, top EU officials said the bloc was prepared to impose sanctions on several Russian officials and banks financing the Russian armed forces and move to limit Moscow\u2019s access to EU capital and financial markets. They gave few details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">EU foreign ministers are meeting later Tuesday to discuss the measures \u2014 but they did not appear to include the massive punishment repeatedly promised in case of a full-fledged invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said the U.K. would slap sanctions on five Russian banks and three wealthy individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While he said that Russian tanks have already rolled into eastern Ukraine, he warned a full-scale offensive would bring \u201cfurther powerful sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House has also moved to respond, issuing an executive order to prohibit U.S. investment and trade in the separatist regions, and additional measures \u2014 likely sanctions \u2014 were to be announced Tuesday. Those sanctions are independent of what Washington has prepared in the event of a Russian invasion, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Russian moves also <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-business-germany-europe-berlin-79e3dafb0d231f6a033613b7dab78cdf\">pushed Germany<\/a> to suspend the certification process for Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was to bring natural gas from Russia. The pipeline was built to help Germany meet its energy needs, particularly as it switches off its last three nuclear power plants and phases out the use of coal, and it has resisted calls by the U.S. and others to halt the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As world leaders scrambled to decide on their response, legislation that will likely set the stage for a deeper move into Ukrainian territory moved through Russia\u2019s parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bills, which sailed quickly through the Kremlin-controlled parliament, envisage military ties between Moscow and the separatist regions, including possible deployment of Russian military bases in the separatist regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even as alarm spread across the globe, Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, sought to project calm, telling the country in an address overnight: \u201cWe are not afraid of anyone or anything. We don\u2019t owe anyone anything. And we won\u2019t give anything to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, will be in Washington on Tuesday to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the State Department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia has long denied it has any plans to invade Ukraine, instead blaming the U.S. and its allies for the current crisis and describing Ukraine\u2019s bid to join NATO as an existential challenge to Russia. Putin reiterated those accusations in an <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-poland-vladimir-putin-f00872897f338dbedd857cd1d880e9d3\">hourlong televised speech<\/a> on Monday, when he announced that Russia would recognize the rebels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"339\" height=\"241\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UKRPutin6.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UKRPutin6.jpg.jpg 339w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UKRPutin6.jpg.jpg?resize=300,213 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 339px) 100vw, 339px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. Russia&#8217;s Putin has recognized the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, raising tensions with West. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUkraine\u2019s membership in NATO poses a direct threat to Russia\u2019s security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia says it wants Western guarantees that NATO won\u2019t allow Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to join as members. Moscow has also demanded the alliance halt weapons deployments to Ukraine and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe \u2014 demands flatly rejected by the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Putin warned Monday that the Western rejection of Moscow\u2019s demands gives Russia the right to take other steps to protect its security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sweeping through more than a century of history, Putin painted today\u2019s Ukraine as a modern construct used by the West to contain Russia despite the neighbors inextricable links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a stark warning to Ukraine, the Russian leader charged that it has unfairly inherited Russia\u2019s historic land granted to it by the Communist rulers of the Soviet Union and mocked its effort to shed the Communist past in a so-called \u201cdecommunization\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are ready to show you what the real decommunization would mean for Ukraine,\u201d Putin added ominously in an apparent signal of his readiness to raise new land claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amid the soaring tensions, U.S. President Joe Biden and Putin tentatively agreed to a meeting in a last-ditch effort to avoid war. But the U.S. always said that if Russia moved in, the meeting<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Karmanau reported from Kyiv, Ukraine, and Madhani from Washington. Jill Lawless in London, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Zeke Miller and Aamer Madhani in Munich, Germany; Geir Moulson and Frank Jordans in Berlin; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, and Eric Tucker, Ellen Knickmeyer, Robert Burns, Matthew Lee and Darlene Superville in Washington, contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After heavy criticism, the Biden administration is now calling Putin&#8217;s movement of troops into Ukraine an invasion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":54224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,93,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1284,3166,3218],"class_list":["post-54163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"7FMLYV2WNNGX7MABWTDBYN5P5M","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2022\/02\/22\/an-invasion-is-an-invasion-white-house-now-says-of-russian-troops-in-ukraine\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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