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.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine “could begin at any time,” including during the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the United States continues “to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border.” Kyiv is among the targets identified in the Russian planning, three sources familiar with the new intelligence tell CNN.
A host of countries have urged their nationals to leave Ukraine, amid growing warnings of a Russian invasion. The British foreign office said all UK nationals “should leave now while commercial means are still available”. Nato leaders have held a meeting, after which Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc stood “united & prepared for any scenario”.
Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite massing more than 100,000 troops near the border. But it has just begun massive military drills with neighboring Belarus, and Ukraine has accused Russia of blocking its access to the sea. The Kremlin says it wants to enforce “red lines” to make sure that its former Soviet neighbor does not join Nato.
Meanwhile, Oil prices jumped in afternoon trading Friday amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia. With about 2 hours left to the trading day, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a White House briefing that there were signs of Russia escalation at the Ukraine border and that it was possible that an invasion could take place during the Olympics, despite speculation to the contrary.
“We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border. As we’ve said before, we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time,” Sullivan said Friday. Sullivan noted that the U.S. is not certain that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a final decision to invade Ukraine.
But “it may well happen soon,” he said. Stocks came off their lows and oil and bond prices retreated from their highs of the trading session following that comment from Sullivan, which countered a bit an earlier report that had sent markets reeling.
