Ukraine’s President Says Biden Made Unwanted Panic Over Russian Invasion Warnings

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine warned U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to "calm down the messaging" about the prospect of a Russian invasion since it was causing concern.

Biden and Zelensky spoke by phone Thursday, CNN said, citing an anonymous Ukrainian source. According to Business Insider, the talk came days after the U.S. announced that the families of U.S. embassy workers in Kyiv should leave the country.

The call "did not go well," the official told CNN. During the call, Zelensky warned Biden that Ukraine disagreed with the U.S. judgment and that it was causing panic in Ukraine, leading to economic difficulties in the future.

The talk lasted an hour and 20 minutes on Thursday, showing the wide range of problems the two presidents had to cover in the wake of Russia's troop surge. Sources said the call was "long and serious," but "constructive," as Biden and Zelensky reviewed Russia's recent aggressions.

Meanwhile, the White House clarified in a readout that the portrayal was inaccurate, and unnamed individuals were "leaking falsehoods." Zelensky's stated worry was not mentioned in an official White House readout of Biden's call.

Emily Horne, White House National Security Council spokesman underscored in a tweet that Biden informed Zelensky that a Russian invasion could begin as soon as February, when the ground freezes over.

The White House also refuted a claim made by CNN's senior national security correspondent Alexander Marquardt on Thursday, who tweeted that Biden told Zelensky during the phone that Kyiv may be "sacked" by Russian soldiers.

Horne, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, tweeted : "This is not true. 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."

Meanwhile, Ukraine's military chiefs have downplayed the possibility of invasion.

"As of today, there are no grounds to believe [Russia will invade]," defense minister Oleksii Reznikov told parliament Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. "Don't worry, sleep well," he said. "No need to have your bags packed."