US official warns Russia could invade ‘any day,’ as Ukraine still sees talks more likely U.S. National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan (Asia Society/Flickr)
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan has said Russia could invade Ukraine within days or weeks but also that Moscow could choose diplomacy to resolve tensions over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine.
Sullivan made the comment in an interview on February 6 on U.S. television after a Ukrainian presidential adviser insisted the chance of resolving soaring tensions with Russia through diplomacy remained greater than that of an attack and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned against believing “apocalyptic predictions.”
But Sullivan, speaking on Fox News as U.S. troops arrived in Poland said: “We are in the window. Any day now, Russia could take military action against Ukraine, or it could be a couple of weeks from now, or Russia could choose to take the diplomatic path instead.”
Any possible Russian action could include annexing Ukraine’s Donbas region, cyberattacks, or a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he said in a separate interview on ABC the same day.
Mykhaylo Podolyak, the adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in a statement that Russia had been conducting large-scale troop rotations, maneuvers, and weapon deployments on a regular basis “to ensure constant massive psychological pressure” since massing forces at Ukraine’s borders a year ago.
“For our intelligence service and our armed forces, this Russian activity comes as absolutely no surprise,” he said.
“How long will such Russian activity last and for what purpose is it maintained? Only the Kremlin can know the exact answer to this question,” he said.
Zelenskiy has previously pushed back on U.S. assertions that a Russian invasion was imminent, and Kuleba on February 6 issued a similar message.
“Different capitals have different scenarios, but Ukraine is ready for any development,” Kuleba said on Twitter. “Today, Ukraine has a strong army, unprecedented international support and Ukrainians’ faith in their country.”
The U.S. State Department also used Twitter to reiterate its message about diplomacy.
“We’ve laid out a diplomatic path. We’ve lined up steep consequences should Russia choose further aggression,” it said on February 6. “We’ve stepped forward with more support for Ukraine’s security and economy. And we and our allies and partners are united across the board.”
Meanwhile, a large contingent of U.S. troops landed in Poland on February 6 as part of a reinforcement to the NATO ally.
Paratroopers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division landed at Rzeszow Airport in southeast Poland.
The division’s commanding general told reporters at the airport the deployment was a “prudent measure” and “defensive in nature.”
The extra troops “are here to enhance the readiness, interoperability across all domains with our Polish allies and, if necessary, defend any portion of NATO,” Major General Chris Donahue said. “Obviously, during this period of uncertainty we know that we are stronger together.”
The West accuses Russia of preparing for a possible invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has denied this, saying that it only wants to ensure its own security and accusing NATO of belligerent behavior.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Russia’s actions show that its claims that it has no plans to invade were false and said the depths of Russian attempts to subvert and threaten Ukraine were clear.
“We and our allies stand united in support for Ukraine and our resolve to raise the cost to Russia if they take further action,” she said on Twitter.
Truss’s tweet linked to one from The Washington Post on U.S. assessments of Russia’s plans.
