White House Rebuts 'Completely False' Claim of 'Virtually Certain Invasion'

The White House National Security Council is disputing a ''completely false'' claim from a Ukrainian official to CNN that President Joe Biden has warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the inevitability of a Russian invasion.

After an official asserted that Biden warned of Kyiv being potentially ''sacked'' and said Ukraine should ''prepare for impact'' once the ground freezes, White House NSC spokeswoman Emily Horne tweeted a pointed objection to the readout of the call between leaders.

''This is not true,'' Horne tweeted. ''President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February. He has previously said this publicly & we have been warning about this for months. Reports of anything more or different than that are completely false.''

The report came in response to a tweet Thursday from a CNN reporter:

''A Russian invasion is now virtually certain once the ground freezes, Biden said to Zelensky, a senior Ukrainian official told @mchancecnn. Kyiv could be 'sacked,' Russian forces may attempt to occupy it, 'prepare for impact,' Biden said, according to this official.''

The White House also called out ''anonymous sources'' who are '''leaking' falsehoods,'' according to another CNN reporter.

''Also, no one said 'sacked,''' CNN's Jim Sciutto tweeted, citing a White House source. ''The only person who should be 'sacked' is the anonymous source who is circulating an inaccurate portrayal of this conversation.''

There have been differing levels of concern over Russia's military buildup on the eastern Ukrainian-western Russian border. Earlier this week, Ukraine officials pointed out Biden administration ''hysteria'' on any potential invasion, noting  thatthe only thing Russia wants — and is getting thanks to reports from leaders of the U.S., Britain and their allies — is ''internal destabilization.''

''According to all intelligence reports that coincide with those of the United States, Britain, and other partners, internal destabilization is No. 1 issue,'' Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told reporters Monday, according to Ukrinform.

''Without internal destabilization, the Russians have nothing to do here. They bet on the issue of internal destabilization.''

The message effectively denounces the Russian Federation's efforts and urges the Ukrainian public to remain calm and not panic amid the chatter, according to the report.

Danilov also denounced what he called panic devaluing of Ukraine's hryvnia currency, causing it to ''plunge'' and thus negatively affect the country's economy, according to the report.

Ukrainians must distinguish between ''information from fake news, of which there is a lot,'' Danilov added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that his military buildup on the border has been merely in anticipation of Ukraine's potential admission into NATO — and not a planned invasion. His argument is NATO allies building up in Ukraine, which reportedly might be in the works because of his own buildup.

• Ukrainian Leader Says Hysteria From Biden, Allies Helps Russia
• Ukraine Crisis Could Escalate to Nuclear Conflict