Report: Russia May Invade Ukraine Before the Olympics End

RZESZOW, POLAND - FEBRUARY 06: US Army Soldiers exit a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft at Jasionka Rzeszow Airport on February 06, 2022 in Rzeszow, Poland. Tensions between the NATO military alliance and Russia are intensifying due to Russia's move of tens of thousands of troops as well as heavy weapons to the Ukrainian border, causing international fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)

World leaders are warning that Russia’s long-simmering threat to invade Ukraine can escalate at any moment.

President Joe Biden, in a Thursday interview with NBC News, said “things could go crazy, quickly,” and urged Americans in Ukraine to leave immediately.

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with @LesterHoltNBC, President Joe Biden discusses the growing number of states rolling back mask requirements, the tense standoff with Russia over Ukraine, skyrocketing inflation, where he is in his search for a SCOTUS nominee and more. pic.twitter.com/NYjldwQ9x2
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) February 11, 2022

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed that sentiment on Friday, saying that “troubling signs of Russian escalation” indicate that “we’re in a window when an invasion could begin at any time, and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics.”

That timeframe matches a new CNN report:

The US and its allies have new intelligence that suggests Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine even before the end of the Olympics, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
Previous assessments had suggested that Russia was unlikely to move into Ukraine until after the Olympics end on Feb. 20, US officials had told CNN in the past. The revelation of the new intelligence comes as administration officials have dramatically ramped up the urgency of their public warnings related to Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

Biden gathered his top national security advisors in the White House Situation Room on Thursday evening to discuss the looming threat.

NEW: Last night there was a Situation Room meeting on Russia's continued military build-up on the border w Ukraine. And, as Sec. Blinken has recently implied, the administration believes "we are now in the window where an invasion could happen BEFORE the end of the Olympics."
— Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) February 11, 2022

On Friday morning, the president convened a virtual meeting with European allies and NATO officials. In Moscow, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace met with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

“I was clear about the tragic consequences that any invasion of Ukraine could have for all people, both Ukrainian, Russia, and the security of Europe,” Wallace told reporters, adding that he had received assurances that Russia had no intention of invading its neighbor.

CBS News reports:

The flurry of diplomatic activity comes as Russia has deployed six warships to the Black Sea, restricting, if not completely cutting off Ukraine’s naval access and increasing the number of Russian forces now encompassing the former Soviet republic.

Russia, weary of its shrinking geopolitical influence, wants Western nations to guarantee that Ukraine won’t be admitted into NATO. But world leaders aren’t willing to let Russia dictate its alliances.

“NATO will not compromise on core principles,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference Thursday. “Renewed Russian aggression will lead to more NATO presence, not less.”

The United States has increased their military presence in Eastern Europe and has supplied antitank weapons to Ukraine in order to bolster their defenses against Russia. Other nations have offered similar assistance.