Biden is 'convinced' Putin has decided to invade Ukraine

US President Joe Biden on Friday said the US believes President Vladimir Putin has made up his mind to invade Ukraine.

Biden said, "I'm convinced" Putin has decided to further invade Ukraine. He cited the "significant intelligence capability" of the US government. "We have reason to believe that," he added.

Speaking at the White House, Biden said the attack could come in the next "week" or "days" and that targets would include the capital Kyiv, "a city of 2.8 million innocent people."

"We're calling out Russia's plans. Not because we want a conflict, but because we are doing everything in our power to remove any reason Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine," Biden wrote later on Twitter. 

Russia has repeatedly denied that it has no plans to attack its neighbor. But Western powers have warned of a possible Russian invasion with over 150,000 Russian troops massed on Ukraine's borders.

The US president described the decision he believes Putin has made as a "catastrophic and needless war of choice," but sought to emphasize that a diplomatic path is still an option should Putin choose to de-escalate in a meaningful way.

With the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken scheduled to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov next week, Biden insisted it was "not too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table."

But Biden warned that if an attack comes, Putin will have "slammed the door shut on diplomacy."A Russian envoy said earlier this week, "There will be no escalation in the coming week, or in the week after that, or in the coming month." But the US has warned that an attack was still possible.