The White House said Friday that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could come within a week, possibly even the next two days, before the end of the Winter Olympics, and urged Americans to leave the country now.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States did not have certain information that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack.
But he said all the pieces are ready for a major military operation that could begin “rapidly”. “The risk is high and the danger is so immediate that conscience demands that it is time to leave,” Mr Sullivan said.
“We are not saying that a decision has been taken by President Putin,” Mr Sullivan said. “What we are saying is that based on what we are seeing on the ground, and what our intelligence analysts have raised, we have a sufficient level of concern that we are sending this clear message.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s defense secretary is visiting Moscow in another attempt to de-escalate tensions over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is waging a massive war game in neighboring Belarus, insisting that the overly strained ties were not its fault. Russia says it has no plans to attack but wants the West to keep Ukraine and other former Soviet countries out of NATO.
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