Amid the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, President Joe Biden decided to meet with the National Security Council on Sunday. In a release Saturday evening, White House press lady Jen Psaki said that the president has been receiving continuous reports on the ground during the weekend.
The president’s comments that Russian President Vladimir Putin had already decided to strike Ukraine “in the coming days” gave the news of Biden’s meeting with officials of his national security team an additional significance this weekend.
Planning To Invade Ukraine
“We have reason to think Russian forces have been planning and intending to invade Ukraine mostly in the coming week, mostly in coming days,” Biden warned in his second formal speech to the nation this week. “We anticipate they will attack Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, which has a population of 2.8 million people.”
It’s unusual to reveal such details about an adversary’s combat planes, and Biden’s prognosis sent shockwaves worldwide. On Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders, Russia has 190,000 troops – roughly half of the country’s military.
Even though Russian military actions & US intelligence regarding Putin’s intentions point to war, Russia’s chief diplomat in Washington reaffirmed that his country presented no threat to Ukraine on Sunday.
Despite the apparent deadlock in diplomatic attempts and inhabitants of Kyiv picking up guns, Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes Putin still has time to choose diplomacy. “We’re going to attempt everything we can to encourage President Putin to reconsider the choice we believe he’s taken till the tanks have all been rolling as well as the aircraft are in the air,” Blinken said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
While continuing to push for diplomatic discussions, US authorities have begun a concentrated effort to inform the public about the human consequences of an invasion if Putin decides to proceed with his preparations to invade.
Ukrainian Institutions
“Missiles and explosives from Russia will fall over Ukraine. Cyberattacks will disrupt communications and shut down important Ukrainian institutions. Following that, Russian tanks & men will advance on important locations that have already identified and precise plans drawn up,” Blinken recently informed members of the United Nations Security Council.
He added that the Russians had deployed air, naval, cyber, electronic warfare, special forces, command and control, logistics engineers, and other assets along Ukraine’s border. “Given the type of troops arrayed, the ground maneuver forces, artillery, ballistic missiles, and air forces, everything is packed together.” “It would be huge, very significant, and that would lead to a significant number of casualties if that were released on Ukraine,” Milley warned on Jan. 28, reports Cnbc.com
