White House hints at worries that Russia could invade NATO countries

Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser, gave the administration's strongest indication yet that the United States believes Russia might invade NATO countries.

Sullivan was asked aboard Air Force One on Friday if the U.S. shares Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's assessment that "Russia wants to invade other Eastern European countries.

"So we do believe that Russian aggression in Ukraine shows a willingness by the Russians to disregard international borders and to disregard the basic rules wrote by the international community that have been built and sustained over the course of seven decades," Sullivan responded. "So the president has been very explicit that part of the reason he's sent forces forward is the Baltic states, to Poland, Romania, and he's supported the setup of these four battle groups in the southern countries of NATO's eastern flank is because it is important in this moment to send a clear message to Russia that the United States and NATO will defend every inch of NATO territory and to deter any thinking that Putin might have about" moving Russian troops into NATO territory.

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"The fact that Russian forces have mobilized in Belarus and that Belarus has changed its Constitution to allow for more flexibility of the stationing of Russian troops and capabilities, that too has a significant impact, particularly on our NATO allies in the Baltics and in Poland," he continued.

"The combination of Russia's brutal war in Ukraine and the change in the physical-military relationship with Belarus does mean from the president's perspective that the United States and NATO need to show strength and resolve in terms of the forces and capabilities postured along the eastern flank," Sullivan concluded. "You will see that in living color at this stop today."

Biden is traveling to Poland on Friday following summits with NATO, European Union, and G-7 allies. He will hold bilateral meetings with President Andrzej Duda, visit Ukrainian refugees, and deliver remarks to U.S. troops stationed in Rzeszow, Poland.

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You can listen to Sullivan's entire conversation with reporters below.