President Joe Biden strove Thursday to walk back his apparent OK the day before of a Russian “minor incursion” into Ukraine, but the gaffe is still yet another sign that the White House is fumbling yet another global crisis.

Moscow looks poised to invade at any moment. Team Biden’s been talking for months about how many “severe sanctions” it will impose if autocrat Vladimir Putin sends his troops in, and Putin’s responded by continuing to build up troops at the border; it’s nearly 100,000 now.

Sending Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on a hastily arranged visit to Kiev on Tuesday, and providing another $200 million in defensive military aid, is a bit too little too late.

Top flack Jen Psaki explained that Blinken would “highlight very clearly that there’s a diplomatic path forward,” which sounds like promises to bribe Putin not to move in. How about making Russia pay a price simply for its clear threats — say, by restoring the sanctions that Biden unilaterally lifted on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which means a gusher of cash for Putin?

Quit threatening to respond to a warmonger (who already occupies much of Ukraine), and start turning the screws now. Talk and empty gestures aren’t remotely enough.