The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released striking photos of him after a controversial Thursday evening phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden, who rumors claimed told Zelensky to “brace for impact” from a Russian invasion.
The Biden White House is denying what anonymous people told CNN about the controversial phone call.
The text of the Ukrainian presidency’s tweets is diplomatic, but the photos of Zelensky are consistent with claims that Biden told him a Russian invasion is almost inevitable in February, as soon as the ground freezes solid enough for Russian armor to roll across it, while a frustrated Zelensky insisted the invasion threat has been overhyped:
Zelensky’s press office threw in a third photo that showed Zelensky looking at his phone as though he wished telephones had never been invented, although the text of the press statement made his conversation with Biden sound productive and supportive:
“This is the second conversation between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States since the beginning of the year, which demonstrates profound strategic cooperation between our countries and sets good dynamics for 2022,” the statement from Zelensky’s office said.