White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned on Friday that Russia may attack Ukraine in a “reasonably swift time frame,” and advised all US people in the country to evacuate immediately. Sullivan couldn’t say whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had reached a decision to attack, but he did say that military action might start “any day.”
The Media Reported late Friday that the US plans to announce Saturday that its embassy in Kyiv would be evacuated, citing unidentified officials. Requests for comment were not immediately returned by the State Department or the embassy. The families of American ambassadors in Kiev were ordered to depart earlier this year.
President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken both issued warnings late Thursday, echoing Sullivan’s. “No one would be able to count on air, rail, or road departures,” he added, adding that a Russian invasion would “likely begin” with aircraft bombardment and missile strikes.
Around Ukraine, where it took Crimea in 2014, the Kremlin has mobilized about 130,000 heavily armed troops. Moscow is also conducting naval maneuvers along mainland Ukraine’s southern shore, as well as a huge training operation in Belarus – within striking distance of Kyiv — that analysts believe could be a prelude to an invasion.
Russia has denied that it has any plans to attack Ukraine, a pro-Western former Soviet republic that Putin regards to be within his area of influence.
“The hysteria of the White House is more revealing than ever,” On Telegram, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted, adding, “The Anglo-Saxons need a war. At any price.”
In reaction to Sullivan’s briefing, Russian Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy tweeted, “Our troops are still on our territory, and I wonder if the US will invade #Ukraine itself – someone has to, after such a panic campaign.”
According to several sources who spoke on the speaking on condition of anonymity, administration thinking, the US assessment that Putin is likely to launch an attack is based in part on new evidence indicating Russia is plotting a false-flag operation to establish a pretext for invading Ukraine.
The exact timing and extent of the purported Russian operation were not disclosed. Officials from the United States had previously accused Russia of attempting to arrange and film a fake attack on Russia by Ukrainian military forces as a pretext for invasion.
At the White House’s request, Biden and Putin will speak on the phone late Saturday morning. Biden also spoke with the leaders of Western allies via video chat on Friday, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and French President Emmanuel Macron. According to a White House briefing, the officials said they were dedicated to dialogue but warned of “massive consequences and severe economic costs” that would be inflicted on Russia if an assault occurred.
Several countries, including the United Kingdom, Latvia, Norway, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Japan, have urged their nationals to leave Ukraine as quickly as possible. Israel has announced that it will begin evacuating the families of diplomatic personnel stationed in Ukraine. According to Reuters, the European Union’s executive arm has not moved its workers, though it is keeping an eye on the situation.
Diplomatic efforts have been fruitless. According to media sources, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu remarked after a meeting with his British colleague, Ben Wallace, on Friday in Moscow that the degree of cooperation between Russia and the West “is close to zero and about to cross the zero meridian and go into negative.”
Moscow has requested that Ukraine be permanently prohibited from joining NATO and that NATO’s military presence in Eastern Europe be phased out. NATO has refused to move on its open door policy, despite Washington’s invitation to talk on “secondary” matters deemed important by the Kremlin.
Scholz of Germany is the next Western leader to meet Putin in person, when he travels to Moscow on Tuesday. His Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, whose Green Party is more wary of Moscow than Scholz’s Social Democrats, said on Friday that the approval of the Nord Stream 2 energy pipeline between Russia and Germany might be conditional on the Kremlin keeping back its troops.
Tensions along Ukraine’s borders remained high, with Russia ready to begin the third day of military drills in Belarus, the largest it has ever held in the Kremlin-aligned country to Ukraine’s north.
The Russian military emphasized field training on land and in the air on the second day of the exercises. Russian motorized rifle battalions teamed up with Belarusian special operations forces to attack simulated infantry formations, and fighter jet crews practised eliminating approaching aircraft. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, marine scouts also taught lessons on ambush techniques and surveillance.
The Russian buildup has brought European countries closer to the US. Officials from the United States stated on Friday that an additional 3,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division would be sent to Poland, in addition to the 1,700 troops already there. Finland, a non-NATO member with close relations to both Russia and the alliance, said on Friday that it was buying military equipment from the US.
As the possibility of a military war looms over Kyiv, Ukrainians as far away as Beijing have expressed a desire for peace. After crossing the finish line on Friday, skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych held up a sign that said “No War in Ukraine,” the first big political statement made at the Winter Games.
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