Ukraine crisis: Russia 'nearly 100% ready' for invasion, says Pentagon official
A senior US defence official in Washington said the Russian forces arrayed along Ukraine’s borders are “as ready as they can be” for an invasion, with about 80% in what the US considers "forward positions, ready to go” within 5 kilometres to 50 kilometres of the border.
"We still cannot confirm that Russian forces have moved into the Donbas area,” added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
The warning comes as the region braced for further confrontation after Russian President Vladimir Putin received authorisation to use military force outside his country and the West responded with sanctions. Ukraine urged its citizens to leave Russia on Wednesday and is moving towards a state of emergency.
Donetsk rebel leader Denis Pushilin insisted Wednesday there were no Russian troops in the region even though a local council member claimed the previous day they had moved in.
Putin said on Tuesday that he hadn’t yet sent any Russian troops into the rebel regions, contrary to Western claims. US President Joe Biden said he estimated that the invasion had already "begun", though Washington said it did not yet have independent proof of Russian troops inside Ukrainian territory.
In Ukraine's east, where an eight-year conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces has killed nearly 14,000 people, violence also spiked again. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and six more were injured after rebel shelling, the Ukrainian military said. Separatist officials reported several explosions on their territory overnight and three civilian deaths.
Russia emptied its diplomatic posts in Ukraine, state news agency Tass reported, a day after the Foreign Ministry announced a plan to evacuate,
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