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Biden sure Putin will invade in days
In one of the worst post-Cold War crises, Russia wants to stop Kyiv joining Nato and accuses the West of hysteria, saying it has no plans to invade, while the US and allies are adamant the military build-up continues.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine within days, US President Joe Biden said on Friday after separatists backed by Moscow told civilians to leave breakaway regions on buses, a move the West fears is part of a pretext for an attack.
In one of the worst post-Cold War crises, Russia wants to stop Kyiv joining Nato and accuses the West of hysteria, saying it has no plans to invade, while the US and allies are adamant the military build-up continues.
Warning sirens blared in Donetsk and Luhansk on Friday after rebel leaders there announced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people to Russia.
“We have reason to believe the Russian forces are planning to and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week, in the coming days,” Biden told reporters at the White House, adding that Kyiv would be a target.
“As of this moment, I am convinced that he has made the decision.”
Russian troops on Ukraine’s border are “uncoiling” and “poised to strike”, US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin said on Saturday during a visit to Lithuania. “They are uncoiling and are now poised to strike,” he said, adding that troops were “moving into the right kinds of positions to be able to conduct an attack”.
But he said conflict was “not inevitable”, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “can choose a different path”.
“The US, in lockstep with our allies and partners, have offered him an opportunity to pursue a diplomatic solution. We hope that he takes it. We hope that he steps back from the brink of conflict.”
Austin said he agreed with US Biden that Putin had “made the decision” to invade.
“There are significant combat forces forward, those forces are now beginning to uncoil and move closer to the border, that facilitates their onward movement,” he said. “Having done this before, I can tell you that is exactly what you need to attack and the stance that you need to be in to attack,” said Austin, who served as US commander in Iraq.
Austin also assured the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania that the US “stands with our allies” and its commitment to Nato’s collective defence was “iron-clad”. The current security tensions in the region have rattled the formerly Soviet-ruled Baltic states, which all have borders with Russia.
Alongside Austin, Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the Russian troop build-up around Ukraine was “a direct military threat to Ukraine but it also poses a threat to the entire region”.
“The battle for Ukraine is a battle for Europe. If he is not stopped there, he will go further,” Landsbergis said, referring to Putin.
The US and Ukraine say there are now around 150,000 Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s borders in Russia and Belarus.
Ukraine could face the worst-case scenario of a Russian invasion as soon as next week, and Europe faced one of its most perilous security situations since the early 20th century, British foreign minister Liz Truss said on Saturday.
“That worst-case scenario could happen as early as next week. The reality is that Russia does want to turn the clock back,” Truss told a security conference in Munich.
“In the last week alone, we’ve seen a doubling of disinformation, and we’ve seen false flag operations in the Donbass region. I’m afraid that Russia has shown that they are not serious about diplomacy,” she added.
