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WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday asserted that Russia has sent more troops on Ukraine’s border and could launch an invasion “at any time”, including during the Winter Olympics which end on February 20.
He said Washington was continuing to “draw down” its embassy in Ukraine and repeated a State Department call to American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country immediately.
“We’re in a window when an invasion could begin at any time, and to be clear that includes during the Olympics,” he said, brushing aside suggestions that Moscow would wait until after the Beijing Games to avoid upstaging its ally China.
“Simply put, we continue to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation,” Blinken said after a meeting of counterparts from the so-called Quad countries — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — in Melbourne.
Blinken insisted that the United States “would strongly prefer to resolve the differences” with Russia “through diplomacy”. “We’ve made every possible effort to engage Russia,” he added.
“But at the same time, we’ve been very clear in building deterrence and building defence and making it clear to Russia that if it chooses the path of renewed aggression, it will face massive consequences,” Blinken warned.
Meanwhile, Russia, which has more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders, denies Western accusations it may be planning to invade its former Soviet neighbor.
His comments come as President Joe Biden urged Americans in Ukraine to immediately leave the country, another strong public signal that war may be drawing closer.
“American citizens should leave, should leave now,” Biden said in an interview with NBC News. “We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly,” he added.
The United States and its allies have warned Russia of harsh sanctions if it goes ahead with an invasion of Ukraine. Moscow says the crisis is being driven by NATO and U.S. actions, and is demanding security guarantees from the West, including a promise by NATO never to admit Ukraine.
