Biden says it would be 'wise' for Americans in Ukraine to leave so they don't get 'caught in the crossfire' if Russia invades

• Biden warned Americans in Ukraine to get out in case Russia invades.
• "I'd hate see them get caught in a crossfire if in fact they did invade," Biden said.

President Joe Biden on Monday said it would be "wise" for any American citizens in Ukraine outside of the diplomatic corps to leave the country, as the US continues to warn that a Russian invasion could be imminent.

"I think it would be wise to leave the country...I'm not talking about our diplomatic corps. I'm talking about Americans who are there. I'd hate see them get caught in a crossfire if in fact they did invade," Biden said during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House.

There are approximately 30,000 Americans living in Ukraine, per the Wall Street Journal.

Russia has gathered roughly 130,000 troops on Ukraine's border. The Kremlin says it doesn't plan to invade, while rejecting calls to pull its troops away from the border to reduce tensions.

In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. And since that year, the Kremlin has backed rebels in a war against Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbass region.

Diplomatic efforts to stave off a broader conflict have so far failed to yield any major breakthroughs. Russia has made demands for binding security guarantees from the West, including that Ukraine an Georgia be banned from joining NATO. That demand is a non-starter for the alliance and the US.

Though the Biden administration has warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could now occur at any time, it's also underscored that it's unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a firm decision to invade.

"I don't know that he knows what he's going to do," Biden said of Putin on Monday. "I think he has to realize it would be a gigantic mistake for him to move on Ukraine. The impact on Europe and the rest of the world would be devastating and he would pay a heavy price."

Biden has repeatedly warned that Russia would face severe economic sanctions if it invades Ukraine, but has ruled out sending in US troops to defend it if Putin orders Russian troops across the border. That said, the US has deployed roughly 3,000 additional troops to NATO member countries in the region as a show of support for allies amid the tensions with Russia.

The US estimates that a large-scale Russian invasion could lead to up to 50,000 civilian casualties, while spawning a refugee crisis.