Mr. Biden has vowed to impose extensive sanctions if an invasion happens, but he acknowledged that responses could differ depending on the extent of the attack. “It’s one thing to determine that if they continue to use cyberefforts, we will respond the same way, with cyber,” he said. While the United States has quietly conducted tabletop war games to simulate such an exchange, there are concerns that it could quickly escalate and lead to more Russian cyberattacks on American targets. Ukraine would not be accepted into the NATO alliance for years, Mr. Biden said. He added that he could assure Mr. Putin — as he did in a phone call several weeks ago — that the United States had no intention of basing nuclear weapons in there.

Source: New York Times January 20, 2022 15:56 UTC