“It would change the course of the war in a way not seen since the Second World War,” warned the American leader during an interview with CBS, the first excerpts of which were released Friday evening.
“Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it,” Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin, promising a “substantial” response from the United States if this step were to be taken.
Russia “would become even more of a pariah in the world, more than it has ever been”, he warned.
Within days, forces in kyiv had regained the initiative in a war that had seemed stuck on a front line that had been virtually immobile since the start of the summer.
Despite this, Vladimir Putin assured Friday that his offensive would continue in Ukraine.