US repeats warning that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time

Washington, Feb 13 (EFE).- Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said Sunday in a televised interview that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day now” and emphasized the possibility that such a military strike could occur very soon.

Although Sullivan said that the US administration cannot precisely predict the timing of a potential Russian military move, he warned during an interview with CNN that it could come this next week.

“The way they have built up their forces, the way they have maneuvered things in place, makes it a distinct possibility there will be major military action very soon,” Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

He also said that “The world should be prepared for Russia staging a pretext and then launching a potential military action.”

Moscow has positioned Russian troops on three sides of Ukraine and has launched military maneuvers in recent days, and US intelligence services say that this means the possibility is high for an attack on Ukraine “very soon.”

In another morning interview with CBS, Sullivan reiterated the possibility of a “false flag” operation by Russia to create a pretext for invading Ukraine, albeit adding that if war does erupt between Moscow and Kyiv, Biden has no intention of sending US troops to fight the Russians.

Biden spoke by telephone on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and warned him that the US and its allies will quickly impose “swift and severe costs” on Russia if it proceeds with an invasion of the neighboring country, which was part of the former Soviet Union until that nation collapsed and split apart.

The US president also said that although the US is prepared to continue engaging in diplomacy to resolve the Ukraine situation, Washington is also just as prepared for other scenarios, as the White House said in a statement.

Biden conveyed to his Russian counterpart that an invasion of Ukraine would produce “widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing” around the world.

The Democratic president also spoke for 51 minutes by telephone on Sunday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, and reiterated his the US commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The White House said in a statement regarding the call that Biden told Zelensky that Washington will respond “swiftly and decisively” along with its allies and partners to a Russian attack on Ukraine.

The two leaders agreed to continue seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis and to try and deter any aggressive moves by the some 130,000 Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s borders.

And the Ukrainian government on Sunday demanded a meeting within the next 48 hours with Russia and all the participatory nations in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Vienna Document after Moscow ignored the ultimatum within that document to provide a detailed response regarding its military activities near the Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister said on his official Twitter account that “Russia failed to respond to our request under the Vienna Document. Consequently, we take the next step. We request a meeting with Russia and all participating states within 48 hours to discuss its reinforcement & redeployment along our border & in temporarily occupied Crimea.”

The Vienna Document was first adopted in 1990 as a combination of security and confidence-building measures in Europe by 57 OSCE participating states, including Russia.

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