Latvian prime minister says Russian forces are entering eastern Ukraine as US warns full-scale invasion could be imminent
Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš said: “According to the information I have, Putin is sending more forces and tanks into the occupied Donbas territories.” “By any definition, it is the passage of a sovereign territory into a neighboring state.”
Pressed on whether he had mentioned adding more Russian troops since Moscow recognized the two breakaway regions earlier this week, Kariņš replied: “Yes, according to the information I have, this is exactly what we’re seeing.”
Two other sources familiar with U.S. intelligence confirmed to CNN that additional Russian troops have in fact crossed the border into the Donbas region since Putin recognized the two regions and ordered the deployment of “containment forces.” keep the peace” on the Donbas on Tuesday. According to a senior US official with the latest intelligence, Russia has deployed one to two battalion-level battle groups, Russia’s main battle formation, each consisting of an average of about 800 troops.
CNN has not independently verified the presence of additional Russian troops in the Donbas.
The new warning from US intelligence was delivered to Ukraine on Tuesday morning Kyiv local time, according to three sources. A senior Ukrainian official said Ukraine had not verified the intelligence and noted that the US had issued similar warnings before, for attacks that ultimately failed to materialize.
The US assesses that Russia has completed all preparations for an invasion, a senior US defense official familiar with the latest intelligence information. “They’re as ready as they can be,” the official said.
According to a NATO military official, NATO allies received a similar intelligence assessment warning of an impending attack. The official warned that “no one knows for sure” what Russian President Vladimir Putin will do.
Kariņš told CNN that there have been new movements of Russian troops into the Donbas region, which Putin declared the independent republics earlier this week.
News of the warning comes as the President of Ukraine has called for the imposition of a state of emergency across the country starting at midnight tonight in Ukraine.
According to the senior Ukrainian official and a Western official familiar with intelligence, the particular concern that the United States warns of is the large northeastern city of Kharkiv. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said on Tuesday there were no plans to evacuate the city,
“We have no such plan,” he said at a news conference in Washington alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
A senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that 80% of Russian forces amassed on the Ukrainian border are in “a position that we will consider going forward, ready to operate.” move.” a senior defense official told reporters during a press conference in front of the camera at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
Russian military forces “arrayed around Ukraine and Belarus are as ready as possible” for an invasion, the official said.
Russia’s military capabilities along the Ukrainian border are “nearly 100% of all forces” that the Pentagon predicts Putin will deploy in the area, the official added. Mr Putin has a “full range of capabilities” that have been delivered to the Ukrainian border, including “significant offensive missile capabilities”, “two dozen warships in the Black Sea” and “armor, artillery, to be sure. infantry,” according to the official.
Social media videos located and analyzed by CNN over the past several days show a continuous accumulation of armor and support vehicles across Russia’s borders less than 30 km.
US officials say they anticipate both a ground attack and air strikes should Russia launch one.
“Russian missiles and bombs will drop all over Ukraine. Communication will be disrupted. Cyber attacks will shut down important Ukrainian facilities,” Blinken said last week to the United Nations Security Council, describing describes how the United States believes a Russian attack on Ukraine will take place. “After that, Russian tanks and soldiers will enter the important targets that have been identified and outlined in the blueprint.”
President Joe Biden on Tuesday described events currently unfolding in Ukraine as “the beginning of a Russian invasion,” but senior administration officials have since declined to confirm whether the military Whether Russia adds to the Donbas, where unmarked Russian forces have supported separatist fighters since then. 2014.
Kariņš told CNN that the initial round of sanctions from the US and Europe is just the beginning of the West’s response to Moscow should Putin escalate further in Ukraine.
“I think what we’re seeing now is the first wave of sanctions. So, Putin moves military units into Ukraine, the democratic world will react immediately, within a day and across all time zones, with coordinated and very deep sanctions. he say. “If there is more action, there will be more sanctions, and they will only cut deeper and deeper.”
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s parliament said it was “dealing with a cyber attack” on its website, a member of Ukraine’s parliamentary press group confirmed to CNN.
Internet watchdog NetBlocks tweeted that the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Security Service and Cabinet Office of Ukraine were “affected by the cyber disruption”.
Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on Wednesday announced that a state of emergency will be imposed across all regions of the country under government control. This measure is expected to be approved by the Ukrainian Parliament within 48 hours and last for 30 days, with the possibility of being extended for another 30 days.
