MAccording to media reports, to the knowledge of the US government, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine – an invasion could therefore begin as early as next week. First, a reporter from the US media reported, “PBS News Hour‘ citing three sources that Putin communicated his decision to the Russian military. The”mirror” also reported that the US secret services and military expected that a Russian attack could take place as early as next Wednesday. The magazine referred to statements by several diplomats and military officials.
Accordingly, in the secret briefings, specific routes of the Russian military were described, as well as individual Russian units and their respective tasks. However, insiders also thought it possible that the USA wanted to torpedo Russian attack plans by deliberately spreading this information.
The Russian government has again denied claims that it is planning an invasion of Ukraine. Western countries are spreading misinformation in this regard and are being supported by the media, the Foreign Ministry said in Moscow. Western states tried to distract from their own aggressive actions.
The US government has not yet confirmed reports of an impending attack in the coming days. Previously, US President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, said in the White House on Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in China on February 20 was considered possible. “We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including new troops arriving at the Ukrainian border,” Sullivan said. However, he made it clear that he was not saying that Putin had made a decision to invade.
Americans to leave Ukraine “in the next 24 to 48 hours”.
“We are in a window of opportunity where an invasion could begin at any time should (Russian President) Vladimir Putin decide to order it,” Sullivan said. “I will not comment on the details of our intelligence information. But I want to be clear that it (the invasion) could start during the Olympics, although there is a lot of speculation that it would not happen until after the Olympics.”
Sullivan urged US citizens in Ukraine to leave the country as soon as possible. “All Americans in Ukraine should leave the country as soon as possible – and in any case within the next 24 to 48 hours.” Great Britain, Denmark, Latvia and Estonia also urged their citizens to leave Ukraine. The German government is now following developments in Ukraine, but has not yet asked the Germans to leave the country.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
Source: dpa-infocom GmbH
In Berlin it was said that the situation was assessed by the participants from the EU and NATO as “very, very serious”. “All diplomatic efforts are aimed at persuading Moscow to de-escalate,” wrote government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Twitter. “It is important to prevent a war in Europe.”
3,000 more US soldiers are transferred to Poland
The US initially considered an airstrike likely in the event that Russia attacks Ukraine, Sullivan said. From the US perspective, possible scenarios include a rapid advance by the Russian military against the Ukrainian capital Kiev or a false flag operation. Russia has mobilized enough forces to carry out a major military strike.
Meanwhile, the United States is sending 3,000 more soldiers to Poland. The soldiers currently stationed at the Ford Bragg base in the US state of North Carolina should be transferred to the eastern European country “in the coming days”, a representative of the US Department of Defense announced on Friday. Department head Lloyd Austin had already ordered the deployment of 1,700 soldiers to Poland at the beginning of February, and now 3,000 more soldiers will be added.
At the end of January, on Biden’s orders, around 8,500 soldiers in the USA had already been put on increased standby to enable rapid transfer to Europe if necessary. But no soldiers are to be sent to Ukraine. Many US soldiers are also stationed in Europe outside of times of crisis – currently more than 80,000 soldiers, including around 35,000 in Germany.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke to his colleagues from Poland, Germany, Canada, France, Romania and Italy about the Ukraine conflict on Friday.
Putin and Biden on the phone
In view of the increasing tensions, Russia’s head of state Vladimir Putin and US President Biden want to talk on the phone this Saturday. According to the Kremlin, Washington asked for the talks, according to the White House, the talks are based on a proposal from Russia.
A representative of the US government said on Friday (local time) that Moscow had proposed a phone call on Monday, but finally accepted the counter-proposal of a call this Saturday. Biden is spending the weekend at Camp David, the country home of the US presidents in the US state of Maryland.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax agency: “In fact, the American side asked for a meeting with President Putin and tomorrow evening Moscow time a meeting between the two presidents is planned.” Both sides initially gave no information about the exact time of the planned meeting. Moscow also confirmed a phone call between the Kremlin chief and French President Emmanuel Macron, which was also planned for Saturday.