In a reiteration of his country's previous stances, the latest being those expressed by U.S. President Joe Biden regarding the Russian attack on Ukraine, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reaffirmed that the Russian president is preparing for an invasion. In an interview with ABC News aired today, Sunday, he stated, "Putin has put all the capabilities he needs in place for a successful invasion. He has several options available and can attack in a short time."
Regarding the withdrawals announced by Moscow in recent days, Austin questioned, "If Russia has indeed withdrawn its troops from the border, why are we still seeing all this logistical, medical, and combat air support in the border area?!" Russia announced yesterday that it had withdrawn a new batch of soldiers and equipment from the western border, but the United States, NATO, and several European countries expressed skepticism about this step, asserting that satellite images indicate otherwise.
Austin's statements came as Biden expressed full confidence that the decision to invade and attack has been made, and that it could affect Kyiv as well, not just eastern Ukraine.
**Offensive Position**
Additionally, a Pentagon official announced yesterday that more than 40% of the Russian forces amassed at the border have assumed an offensive posture and have spread to tactical gathering points over the past forty-eight hours, indicating that the phase of destabilization led by Russia in this country has "begun." Tactical gathering points are areas close to the front line where a military unit gathers before launching an attack.
It was also clarified that the U.S., which estimates the number of Russian troops currently deployed north, east, and south of Ukraine at over 150,000, has monitored the movements of Russian forces toward the border since Wednesday. Furthermore, it was noted that Moscow had 125 military battalions near the Ukrainian border yesterday, compared to 60 battalions during normal times and 80 battalions in early February. The increase in clashes between Moscow-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces, along with incendiary statements from the Kremlin and Russia-aligned separatist leaders regarding the situation in the Donbas and Luhansk regions, aligns with the ongoing "campaign to destabilize Ukraine."
**"Could Fabricate a Pretext!"**
It is noteworthy that Washington has been warning for weeks that Russia may fabricate an incident at the Ukrainian border to justify invading its neighbor, which Moscow denies. Meanwhile, the West has been warning since October about military buildups at the border between the two countries, accusing Putin of preparing for an invasion and threatening him with severe and painful sanctions on his country. However, he denies any intention to attack, having presented a series of demands to the United States that could de-escalate the border tensions, primarily the cessation of NATO's eastward expansion.
