2 yıl önce

US warns Russia may invade 'any day' as Kiev rejects apocalyptic scenarios

Different capitals have different plans, "but Kiev is ready for any development," Ukraine's FM Kuleba said, while US officials continued to sound alarm bells over an imminent invasion.

Reuters Archive

Ukraine, backed up by some European allies, has consistently sought to play down fears of an imminent attack.

Ukraine has pushed back at "apocalyptic predictions" over a potential Russian invasion after officials in the United States sounded dire warnings that Moscow had stepped up its preparations for a major incursion.

"Do not believe the apocalyptic predictions. Different capitals have different scenarios, but Ukraine is ready for any development," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

"Today, Ukraine has a strong army, unprecedented international support and the faith of Ukrainians in their country. It is the enemy who should fear us," he added.

Presidency advisor Mykhailo Podolyak insisted that the chances of finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis remained "substantially higher than the threat of further escalation".

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a week ago Ukraine was not a sinking Titanic and accused Washington and media of fuelling panic that weighed on the economy when there were "no tanks in the streets".

Kiev, backed up by some European allies, has consistently sought to play down fears of an imminent attack as it tries to avoid inflicting further harm on its struggling economy.

'Any day now'

A day earlier two US officials said that Russia may be ready for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by mid-February as it had in place about 70 percent of the combat power it believed it would need and was sending more battalion tactical groups to the border.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday Russia could take military action "any day now" but could still opt for diplomacy.

President Joe Biden has reacted to the buildup by dispatching some 3,000 American forces to bolster NATO's eastern flank, with a new batch of 1,700 US soldiers arriving in Poland on Sunday.

The move angered Moscow, which has issued demands for NATO to guarantee Ukraine will not join the alliance and withdraw forces from member states in eastern Europe.

But US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told Fox News on Sunday that Biden "is not sending forces to start a war or fight a war with Russia in Ukraine".

Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian borders, sparkling fears of a planned assault. Moscow has said it is not planning an invasion but could take unspecified military action if its security demands are not met.