Russia is 70% ready to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, US officials have claimed.
Washington did not publish evidence for its assertion. However, officials briefed journalists that the ideal time for an invasion would be from mid-February until the end of March when the ground in Eastern Europe is frozen - something that would allow the Kremlin to easily send heavy military equipment to the front.
Washington has previously claimed that Russia might fake an attack on its territory or against Ukraine’s Russian speaking minority in order to manufacture an excuse for an attack.
"We do have information that the Russians are likely to want to fabricate a pretext for an invasion," a Pentagon spokesman said.
"As part of this fake attack, we believe that Russia would produce a very graphic propaganda video, which would include corpses and actors that would be depicting mourners and images of destroyed locations.”
U.S. President Joe Biden, right and Russia's President Vladimir Putin, shake hands, prior to the U.S.-Russia summit at Villa La Grange in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (Denis Balibouse/Pool Photo via AP)According to western officials, a war could see Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, fall within days and cause up to 50,000 civilian deaths. It could also see millions of Ukrainians flee and seek refuge in western countries.
The Russian Federation is reported to have deployed some 100,000 troops along its border with Ukraine but Moscow denies it has any intention of invading.
The Kremlin says its troops are in the region for military drills and accused America of trying to draw Russia into war in order to impose economic sanctions.
The crisis has been traced back to Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 and last week Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko told Newstalk that the two nations had essentially been at war ever since.
“It’s important for everyone to understand that Ukraine has been in a state of war literally for eight years now,” Ms Vasylenko told On The Record with Gavan Reilly.
“The situation we are experiencing is nothing new really - neither for the Government, nor for the people.
“Ukrainians have become accustomed to living in this state of having to counter Russian aggression almost every day since this aggression comes in many different forms and sizes.
“We incur cyber attacks, we incur disinformation attacks and various kinds of propaganda.”
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She concluded:
“At the end of the day, it’s a war that will be going on until Putin and the Russian regime finally decide to let go of Ukraine.
“Admit to themselves and to the world that they accept Ukraine as an independent, sovereign state and until they finally start to respect our borders as any normal, sane country that considers themselves a democracy would do.”
Main image: Ukrainian Army Ground Forces soldiers following a live-fire training exercise at Central City Camp, International Peacekeeping and Security Center October 29, 2015 near Yavoriv, Ukraine. Picture by: Alamy.com.
