US fears Ukraine attack
Washington: “No option is off the table”
01/18/2022, 9:15 p.m
The White House is expecting the worst: with 100,000 Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian border, the situation is “extremely dangerous”. Russia could attack Ukraine at any time. In that case, Washington is keeping everything open.
In view of the tensions in the Ukraine conflict, the US government has warned in no uncertain terms of a possible invasion by Russia. “We are now at a stage where Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine at any time,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington. The situation is “extremely dangerous”. The US government is therefore keeping all options open. “Neither option is off the table,” said Psaki.
Psaki again blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the escalation. “President Putin caused this crisis by massing 100,000 Russian soldiers along Ukraine’s borders,” Psaki said.
According to Psaki, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wants to make it clear “that there is a diplomatic way forward” at his upcoming crisis meeting with his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday. Should Putin opt for a military escalation instead, Russia would face “serious economic consequences”. According to a US government representative, the meeting will discuss a possible diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict. Blinken and Lavrov had already called each other on Tuesday.
Blinken will also meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev on Wednesday. On Thursday he will then travel to Berlin for talks with Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the foreign ministers of France and Great Britain.
Because of a massive Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine, the West fears that Russia is preparing to invade the neighboring country. The government in Moscow denies this.