The details about the meeting between Blinken and Lavrov in Geneva 3:35
(CNN) --
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expanded on his warning against a Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying "a single additional Russian force" entering Ukraine "aggressively" would result in a severe response by part of the United States and its allies.
"If even one additional Russian force enters Ukraine aggressively, as I said, that would trigger a swift, severe, united response from us and from Europe," Blinken told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" on Sunday.
The secretary's comments further clarify the US position on any further aggressive military action by Russia after the country amassed tens of thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine. Although US officials have been issuing warnings to Russia in recent days, President Joe Biden mistook the message of dire consequences last week, telling a news conference that a "minor incursion" might not trigger the same response from NATO. than an invasion.
The president later clarified that any Russian troops crossing the Ukraine border would constitute an invasion, and Blinken, following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week, also warned that any Russian invasion of Ukraine it would be "received with a stern and united response".
Blinken also defended on Sunday the government's unwillingness to preemptively impose sanctions against Russia, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urging the United States and its allies to penalize Moscow now for its massive troop buildup over from the borders of Ukraine.
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"When it comes to sanctions, the purpose of those sanctions is to deter Russian aggression," he said.
"So if they are activated now, the deterrent effect is lost. Everything we are doing, including building together with Europe, with massive consequences for Russia, is designed to take into account President (Vladimir) Putin's calculation and prevent him and deter him from taking aggressive action, even while we're exercising diplomacy at the same time."
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Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said in a separate interview on "State of the Union" on Sunday that the Joe Biden administration should impose a new round of sanctions on Russian officials immediately to deter an invasion of Ukraine.
"We need to go ahead and put sanctions on Russia now. We need to show them that we mean business and that we will be there for Ukraine should (Russia) invade," Ernst, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Bash.
"Once an invasion happens? Lives are lost. You can't go back. So those sanctions need to be put in place now."
The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee echoed Ernst's sentiments on Sunday, saying that without US sanctions, Putin would invade Ukraine.
"If we don't do something strong right now, I'm afraid he's going to invade Ukraine, which will have ... global ramifications here," Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas told CBS News.
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“This president has made so many concessions with nothing in return,” he added.
“That is why Putin smacks of weakness.
He's wanted this, as you and I speak, for a long time.
It's your legacy problem.
And if we don't provide that deterrence, it will come in."
Last week, Biden promised withering economic consequences for Russia if Putin were to send his troops across the border, including restricting its financial transactions in US dollars.
The president said that after speaking with Putin twice last month, he believed his Russian counterpart had a good understanding of the economic sanctions he was preparing to enact.
CNN's Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.
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