Joe Biden has issued a stark warning that there is a distinct possibility
russia could invade Ukraine in february. The US President held a telephone
conversation with Ukraine President Vladimir Zelinsky on thursday as tens of
thousands of russian troops are deployed near the ukrainian border.
A White House statement said President Biden reaffirmed the readiness of the
united states along with its allies and partners to respond decisively if
Russia further invades ukraine during the talks.
White House National Security Council Spokesperson Emily Horn said,
President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the russians
could invade ukraine in february. He has said this publicly and we have been
warning about this for months.
Russia is ramping up its aggression against ukraine as world leaders
threaten moscow with retaliation. what could happen in Ukraine?
Emergency talks have been held between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his
European and NATO counterparts as the ukraine russia crisis deepens. The
possibility of a russian invasion into the former soviet union country is
becoming more realistic, as the Kremlin refuses to back down on its demands
and bolsters the number of troops close to the border.
Fears among western powers and ukrainians range from a full-scale invasion
to a cold war style war of aggression and while no current expected outcomes
are positive ones, there are lesser outcomes that could emerge from the
fray.
Russia deployed tens of thousands of troops close to the border with the
former soviet union country in mid-2021, but has repeatedly denied there are
plans to invade its former ally.
Nevertheless the kremlin's list of demands to western powers, most notably
for ukraine to never join nato and push the usa sphere of influence away
from the area have been met with a firm rebuttal. The growing crisis is
unlikely to slow down anytime soon here are three of the potential outcomes
for Ukraine.
Armed conflict has been taking place in the east of ukraine for a number of
years now and fears are mounting that russia could attempt annexation of the
donbass region, much like the annexation of crimea in 2014.
The conflict so far has killed fourteen thousand people and began following
the removal of putin supporting President Viktor Yanukovic from ukraine
after widespread protests and civil unrest. A conflict ensued between those
in the region who want to join russia and those wishing to stay part of
ukraine in which russian forces were widely believed to have been present in
the area.
Russia has denied deploying troops to the area and in december president
vladimir putin accused ukraine of committing genocide against the local
russian-speaking population, but the Ukrainian foreign ministry has claimed
the latest posting of troops close to the border as a demonstration of
Russia's purposeful policy to pull the temporarily occupied territories of
our state into its economic, political, electoral and information space.
It's clear russia is currently providing the pretext for action in the
donbass region at least and will likely look to seize control of the east to
put pressure on the west to meet its demands.
A so-called limited operation could be enacted by russia instead of a
full-blown invasion. This could come in a number of different ways, from
cyber attacks to psychological warfare as well as targeted attacks on
regions in ukraine.
Such an operation would see russia implement disinformation drives in
propaganda, which could soften ukraine to a later invasion. Only earlier
this month a major cyber attack on ukrainian government facilities was
blamed on Belarusian hackers believed to be acting with russian support. It
would spare russia the long-term cost and damage to the kremlin's reputation
within russia.
Russia has for the first time moved elite paratroopers close to its border
with ukraine amid fears of a military operation to grab capital Kiev. A
train with the crack troops and their equipment was spotted moving west
towards the potential war zone and appears to be the 217th guards parachute
regiment of the 98th airborne division.
The deployment was seen passing through russia's briansk region which
borders both ukraine and Belarus, as shown in a video posted on Tik Tok.
An analysis by respected independent russian researchers known as the
Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) indicates the tarpaulin-covered armored
vehicles in the video are bnd 4m airborne combat vehicles and btr MDM airborne armored personnel carriers.
The train includes five passenger carriages which can carry more than 250
people, said the CIT. It was also loaded with eight shortened two axle
commas four three five zero one trucks as used by russia's airborne troops.
The train originated from tekstilney station in the ivanova region,
according to railway records which is close to where the elite airborne
forces are based, said the analysis.
This is the first confirmed video of paratroopers moving closer to the
border with ukraine, said CIT.
In any large-scale attack on the territory of ukraine the airborne forces
should play a decisive role. They would act either in a landing operation to
capture strategic objects in the rear or a shock infantry. It comes as an
80-ton shipment of US anti-tank missiles arrived in ukraine just the latest
delivery of high-tech weapons aimed at inflicting maximum death and
destruction on putin's forces if he decides to invade.
A plane loaded with 300 javelin missiles worth some 50 million dollars
landed in capital key of late tuesday. The third part of a 200 million
dollar shipment of american military aid that is being sent to help its
ally.
