WASHINGTON — A senior U.S. defense official in Washington says the Russian forces arrayed along Ukraine’s borders are “as ready as they can be” for an invasion, if ordered to launch it.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
U.S. authorities have estimated that Russia has more than 150,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders with Russia and Belarus.
About 80% of those forces are now in “what we would consider forward positions, ready to go,” the official said, adding that they are within 5 to 50 kilometers (3 to 31 miles) of the border. The official added “we still cannot confirm that Russian forces have moved into the Donbas (a rebel-held area in eastern Ukraine).”
The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information.
The official said the U.S. has indications — based on intelligence as well as visual evidence — that “they (Russian forces) have advanced their readiness to a point where they are literally ready to go now, if they get the order to go.”