President Biden said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “did not want to hear it” when US intelligence officials warned of an imminent Russian attack ahead of the February 24 invasion, according to the Associated Press. Biden, who along with Congress has stepped up U.S. involvement in the global effort to thwart the Russian invasion and recently finalized more than $ 40 billion in new military and humanitarian aid, spoke at a Democrat fundraiser in Los Angeles on Friday night. , according to the AP. and Bloomberg News. The president spoke of US commitment to supporting Ukraine four months after the invasion, saying “nothing like this has happened since World War II.” During his conversation, Biden also said that his government had warned Zelensky and the Ukrainian government, based on US information, before the invasion began. “I know a lot of people thought I might be exaggerating,” the president was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. Biden said he “knew we had data to support” that Russian President Vladimir Putin “was going to go abroad.” “There was no doubt and Zelensky did not want to hear it, not even many people,” Biden was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “I understand why they did not want to hear it, but [Putin] I came in. “ Ukrainian officials, however, rejected Biden’s account. Serlen Nykyforov, a spokesman for Zelensky, told the Ukrainian news website LIGA.net that Zelensky had three or four telephone conversations with Biden in the run-up to the invasion, during which the two leaders discussed the situation. He added that Ukraine had asked for precautionary sanctions to de-escalate the situation. “Therefore, the phrase ‘I did not want to hear’ probably needs clarification,” Nykyforov said. Zelensky’s adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, reiterated Nykyforov, telling LIGA.net that Ukraine knew that Russia was planning an invasion, but that questions remained about the size of any attack. “It is absurd to accuse a country of resisting an attacker for more than 100 days, which prevails if key countries have failed to stop Russia as a precautionary measure,” he said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Biden’s remarks come as Ukraine is on the verge of losing Russia’s eastern Luhansk region, warning that its desperate army desperately needs faster Western arms deliveries. Heavy fighting continues in the strategic city of Sheverodonetsk, but “most of the city is controlled by Russians,” the Luhansk governor said on Saturday. Russia controls most of Sheverodonetsk, the governor said Kiev’s European allies have pledged to step up military aid – even if many seem hesitant about Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to discuss Ukraine’s EU bid with Zelensky ahead of the Commission’s expected recommendation on Ukraine’s status next week. As the United States and its allies turn to planning a larger war in Ukraine, Biden has made no secret of the fact that the Americans will continue to support Zelensky and the Ukrainian people through aid and weapons. The Senate recently passed a bill that includes $ 20 billion in combined military assistance and is expected to fund the deployment of advanced weapons systems, such as Patriot anti-aircraft missiles and long-range artillery. The bill also includes more than $ 8 billion in general financial support for Ukraine, nearly $ 5 billion in global food aid to address possible food shortages caused by the collapse of the Ukrainian agricultural economy, and more than $ 1 billion in global aid. the refugees. US deepens Ukraine’s $ 40 billion bailout and expands NATO Biden recently confirmed that his government was sending advanced medium-range missile systems to Ukraine in response to a high-level request from Ukrainian officials that weapons were needed to limit Russian forces’ advance into the east. Biden’s announcement provoked an angry response from Kremlin officials, who said they believed the United States was “deliberately and diligently adding fuel to the fire.” Biden confirms US sends advanced missile systems to Ukraine But before the invasion, some questioned whether Zelensky was prepared for the Russian attack. As top US and European officials sounded the alarm in January that Putin could send troops and tanks across the border, the Ukrainian leader called for calm and urged his people not to succumb. Zelensky had said – repeatedly – that he was not convinced that a Russian attack was imminent. “Take a breath,” he said in a video posted on his official website on January 19. “Calm down”. Recognizing a possible Russian attack earlier this year, Zelensky sought to avoid what he called “panic in the markets, panic in the financial sector”, knowing that a possible war would be worrying for the Ukrainian economy. On Friday night, Biden again targeted Putin, whom he has accused of being part of the historic inflation in the United States. Biden accused the Russian president of “trying to eliminate him [Ukrainian] culture, not just the nation, but culture, “according to Bloomberg. Podolyak told Interfax that the Ukrainian government had recognized the possibility of an invasion. “Ukraine understood the intentions of the Russians, waited for one or the other offensive scenario, prepared for it,” he said. He added that Zelensky had “high quality intelligence” before the invasion and that the magnitude of the attack surprised not only Ukraine but also the world. “The president also responded carefully to all the words and warnings of our partners. The question has always been what will be the scope of the invasion? said Podolyak. “Undoubtedly, the scale of the invasion, which we saw on February 24, shocked many countries, including our partners.”