Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Friday that Russia could invade Ukraine at “any time.”
Blinken noted an incursion could occur during the Beijing Olympics, even though that had previously been seen as something Russian President Vladimir Putin might avoid. Blinken made the latest of his warnings in Australia following meetings with his counterparts from the “Quad” — Australia, India, and Japan.
“As we’ve said before, we’re in a window when an invasion could begin at any time — and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics,” he explained, adding that the United States continues “to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border.”
US TROOPS PREPARING TO HELP AMERICANS FLEEING UKRAINE SHOULD RUSSIA INVADE
Russia’s military has more than 100,000 troops deployed to its border with Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed as recently as Wednesday, while Moscow also has troops currently in Belarus, another country that shares a border with Ukraine. Belarus is closer to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, than Russia.
The U.S. and other allies have attempted to negotiate a diplomatic ending to the tense standoff, though those efforts have not seemed to reduce the possibility of an invasion.
“What’s at stake is not simply, as important as it is, Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence, but very basic principles that have, in a hard-fought way after two World Wars and a Cold War, undergirded security, peace, and prosperity for countries around the world — principles like one country can’t simply change the borders of another by force; principles like one country can’t simply dictate to another its choices, its policies, with who it will associate; principles like one country can’t exert a sphere of influence to subjugate its neighbors to its will,” Blinken said.
For weeks, the administration has warned that Russia could launch a “false-flag operation” to justify an invasion. Kirby provided more details about what that could look like, saying, “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. officials have repeatedly said they’re unsure if Putin will ultimately decide to invade Ukraine, and some have said they believe he hasn’t decided yet. Putin has demanded that NATO stop expanding eastward into Ukraine, while the U.S. has threatened significant economic sanctions should Russia invade.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
President Joe Biden deployed approximately 3,000 troops to Eastern European countries to provide support for allies earlier this month, while roughly 8,500 troops are on “heightened alert” for a deployment should NATO call up its forces.
The troops, some of whom will be in Poland, may be used to help Americans who want to evacuate Ukraine, though Biden, who has urged Americans in Ukraine to leave, has said the troops would not enter Ukraine to help those Americans leave.
