US sees ‘every indication’ that Putin will invade Ukraine by mid-February
The United States believes that Russia plans to use military force against Ukraine by mid-February, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said in an online discussion organized by Yalta European Strategy on Jan. 26.
“We certainly see every indication that (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is going to use military force sometime (between) now and the middle of February," Sherman said.
At the same time, the U.S. government stated that it does not know if Putin has made the final decision to invade, with Sherman adding that Putin’s planning may have been affected by the Olympic Games in Beijing, which are slated to begin on Feb. 4. Putin is expected to attend the opening ceremony in person.
Sherman said the United States was preparing to react to various potential developments in the status quo, from a fully-fledged Russian invasion of Ukraine to hybrid warfare and false flag attacks.
Earlier, U.S. news outlet Bloomberg reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping had allegedly asked Putin not to invade Ukraine during the Winter Olympics, which will be held in Beijing from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Ukrainians not to panic over a potential Russian invasion, and stressed that risks of Russia’s military aggression were not greater than they had been in the last eight years. Zelensky also added that Ukraine was working on strengthening its military capabilities, that its army was ready for whatever was coming, and that the Ukrainian government was working on a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Since the end of October 2021, Russia has been massing troops near the Ukrainian borders. Russia has since deployed more than 127,000 troops and a huge stock of offensive weapons near the Ukrainian border and in the temporarily occupied territories, according to the latest intelligence estimate from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
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