USA. will send troops to Ukraine? This has been said by Joe Biden

Oppenheimer discusses Russia's invasion of Ukraine 3:09

(CNN) --

United States President Joe Biden has warned Americans that they will have to pay a price for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Fuel prices are likely to rise.

The post-World War II world order that has maintained relative peace in Europe is under threat.

• War Russia - Ukraine: last minute and news of the attack and invasion live

But Biden has also been very clear on another point: US troops will not be sent to Ukraine to participate in the conflict.

When announcing sanctions against Russia for the start of its invasion on Tuesday, Biden was careful to make it clear that the United States was not being aggressive towards Russia.

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"Let me be clear: These are totally defensive moves on our part. We have no intention of fighting Russia," Biden said.

In early February, Biden told NBC News that he would not consider any scenario that would include sending US troops to evacuate Americans in Ukraine.

"There isn't. That's a world war if the Americans and Russia start shooting at each other," he said.

• Biden imposes additional sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine: "Putin chose this war"

While Biden's clarification that US troops would not engage offensively may help avoid a US-Russian conflict, critics noted that he also made it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his forces would face fewer obstacles in the war. his invasion.

"Biden diluted our most important source of influence in this crisis," Ian Brzezinski, a former Pentagon official under President George W. Bush, told

earlier this month.

There are US troops in countries bordering Ukraine

A specialist assures that NATO will not be able to intervene in Ukraine 0:40

One of the main factors behind Putin's invasion is his fear that Ukraine will become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was formed after World War II to contain the Soviet Union and has expanded in recent decades to incorporate the countries of the former Soviet bloc.

• What is NATO and when does it act?

Ukraine borders the NATO member countries of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

If Russia threatened one of these countries, the United States would be bound by the agreement to defend them.

"We want to send an unequivocal message, however, that the United States, along with our allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory and honor the commitments we make to NATO," Biden said Tuesday.

He made a similar point last week, speaking from the White House, but added clearly: "We will not send troops to fight in Ukraine either, but we will continue to support the Ukrainian people."

Movement of troops within NATO countries

Survey: 1 in 2 Russians support using military force 0:32

Although Biden has vowed not to send US troops to Ukraine, in recent weeks the United States has sent more soldiers and warplanes to Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Romania, and put 8,500 US troops on high alert.

Following Russia's invasion and attack on Ukraine, CNN reports that the Biden administration is considering moving more US forces already in Europe to countries further east due to massive Russian firepower so close to allies. , according to a US official familiar with the matter.

"Today we activate the NATO defense posture that gives our military commanders more authority to move forces and deploy forces when necessary, and of course this can also be elements of the NATO response force," he said on Thursday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"We are prepared, we are adjusting our posture, but what we do is defensive, measured, and we do not seek confrontation. We want to prevent conflict."

Opposition to further US involvement

The Republicans' response to Biden's measures 0:49

Americans are wary of US involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to polls conducted in the run-up to the Russian invasion.

In an AP-NORC poll, conducted from last Friday to this Monday, only 26% of Americans believe that the United States should play a significant role in the situation between Russia and Ukraine.

About half, 52%, said they should play a minor role, and another 20% said they should play no role at all.

A third of Democrats (32%) and 22% of Republicans wanted the United States to play a major role.

Independents were the most likely to say that the United States should play no role;

32% thought so, compared to 22% of Republicans and 14% of Democrats.

In light of the polls, Biden and US officials would have to be very careful about engaging the public before changing the administration's position on the commitment of US troops.

CNN's Barbara Starr and Ariel Edwards-Levy contributed to this report.

Conflict Russia - UkraineWar in UkraineJoe Biden