Ukraine has rejected dire warnings of a potential Russian invasion issued by
US officials. Kiev feels stronger with the support of many countries and
insists it is the enemy who should be afraid.
US officials say the Kremlin has amassed 110,000 troops along the border
with its pro-Western neighbor but intelligence assessments have not
determined whether President Vladimir Putin actually decided to strike.
They judge that Putin wants all options available to him, from a limited
military invasion of the pro-Russian Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to a
full-scale invasion.
Kiev, backed by several European allies, has consistently sought to play
down fears of an imminent attack as it tries to prevent further damage to
its struggling economy.
"Today, Ukraine has a strong army, unprecedented international support and
the confidence of the Ukrainian people in their country. It is the enemy who
should be afraid of us," the Ukrainian government said, quoted by
news.com.au, Monday (7/7) 2/2022).
Previously, US officials estimated that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would
leave 25,000 to 50,000 civilians dead, along with 5,000 to 25,000 Ukrainian
troops and 3,000 to 10,000 Russian troops.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned that an invasion
could occur as early as tomorrow.
"It could happen as early as tomorrow or it could take a few more weeks,"
Sullivan said.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin has put himself in a position with a
military deployment to be able to act aggressively against Ukraine at any
time now," he said.
Sullivan's comments contradicted statements by White House spokeswoman Jen
Psaki a few days earlier who said that the government could not predict what
Russian President Vladimir Putin would do with Ukraine.
Psaki, at the time, also made it clear that he would stop using the word
"immediately" when making statements about Moscow's alleged invasion of
Kiev.
Moscow has repeatedly denied having plans to invade its neighbors and has
accused Western countries, especially the US, of provoking Kiev to war.
Sullivan, on the Fox News Sunday program said that the American government
remains hopeful that Russia will move to defuse the situation through
diplomacy.
"The key is that the United States needs and is prepared for any eventuality
and is in line with our allies and partners," he said.
"We have strengthened and convinced our allies on the east side."
Sullivan insisted that the deployment of 1,700 US troops to Poland, part of
a deployment of 3,000 personnel to Europe, was not a move to increase
tensions in the region.
In fact, Ukraine itself a few days earlier accused such steps of adding to
tensions.
"The troops were deployed, not sent to fight Russian troops in Ukraine," he
said.
"They are there to defend our NATO allies and to send a clear message to
Russia that aggression against allies will be met with a stiff response," he
said.
Ukraine's presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, said in a statement Sunday
that the chances of finding a diplomatic solution to de-escalation were
substantially higher in the region than further escalation.
