At a time of increasing tension between Washington and Moscow, the Biden administration is raising the alarm by warning of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine. Officials from the United States had warned that Russia was building a large force along its border to Ukraine. The Biden administration has released more information about intelligence findings, which indicate that the offensive could start as soon as next year, and include an estimated 175,000 troops.
“The Russian plans call for a military offensive against Ukraine as soon as early 2022 with a scale of forces twice what we saw this past spring during Russia’s snap exercise near Ukraine’s borders,” an administration official told the Washington Post, which was first to report on the intelligence findings. “The plans involve extensive movement of 100 battalion tactical groups with an estimated 175,000 personnel, along with armor, artillery and equipment.”
U.S. officials say it is not clear what Vladimir Putin will do, and that it’s unlikely he wants to go into war. U.S. Army Chief Of Staff Gen. James McConville stated Saturday that there were “roughly 95,000 to 100,000 Russian troops” at the border with Ukraine. “I don’t know what they’re going to do. McConville stated that McConville was concerned about McConville’s position. The concern was also expressed by President Joe Biden on Friday night. Biden stated, “We’ve been conscious of Russia’s actions for a long time. My expectation is that we’re going to have a lengthy discussion with Putin.” Officials claim that Moscow launched a propaganda campaign against Ukraine, NATO, and other countries to blame them for any military escalation.
Oleksii Reznikov (Ukraine’s defense minister) said that Moscow may be planning a massive military attack for the end of January. Experts believe that Ukraine’s military would not be able to resist a large-scale invasion. Moscow has repeatedly insisted to Washington that the United States will not allow Ukraine to join NATO. This is why troops are being assembled at the border. Jen Psaki (White House press secretary) rebuffed the notion that Moscow could have any say in the matter. Psaki said to reporters that NATO member countries determine who is a NATO member, not Russia. “That’s how the process works and will continue,” Psaki told reporters Friday. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary-general, said that Russia does not have a say in expanding the alliance.
Biden and Putin will have a video conference call Tuesday as tensions between Washington and Moscow increase. This will be the first call between the presidents since July when Biden demanded that Putin do more to stop ransomware gangs from launching ransomware attacks.
