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U.S. Official Warns Russian Could Invade 'Any Day,' As Ukraine Still Sees Talks More Likely

By RFE/RL February 06, 2022

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," Chris Donahue said. "Obviously, during this period of uncertainty we know that we are stronger together."

Washington last week announced the deployment of 3,000 additional U.S. soldiers to Germany and Eastern Europe as part of efforts to push Russia into withdrawing more than 100,000 combat-ready troops near Ukraine.

Poland, which joined NATO in 1999, already hosts around 4,500 U.S. troops on rotation.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the additional U.S. contingent of 1,700 soldiers would be based "in southeast Poland on NATO's eastern flank."

Some U.S. soldiers arrived on February 5, and Blaszczak said there would be more arrivals "in the coming hours."

Also on February 6, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once more ruled out sending weapons to Ukraine, but signaled that Germany is open to deploying more troops to Lithuania.

"We are ready to do all that is necessary to strengthen" the German-led battle group in Lithuania, Scholz said in an interview with German broadcaster ARD just before departing on a visit to Washington to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden.

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.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-invasion- ukraine-sullivan/31689986.html

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U.S. Official Warns Russian Could Invade 'Any Day,' As Ukraine Still Sees Talks More Likely