The United States has issued a new warning to the Ukrainian government that recent intelligence indicates a large-scale Russian invasion is imminent, according to Ukrainian, American and Western officials familiar with the matter.
The new warning was conveyed Tuesday morning Kiev local time, according to three sources.
A senior Ukrainian official said Ukraine had not verified the intelligence and noted that the United States had issued similar warnings before about attacks that ultimately did not materialize.
NATO allies have received a similar intelligence assessment warning of an imminent attack, according to a NATO military official. The official warns that “no one knows for sure” what Putin will do.
News of the warning comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the issuance of emergency situation It will be enforced nationwide from midnight in Ukraine.
The United States has warned that the main northeastern city of Kharkiv is of particular concern, according to a senior Ukrainian official and a Western official familiar with the intelligence. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s foreign minister said there were no plans to evacuate the city.
“We have no such plans,” Dmytro Kuleba said during a press conference in Washington alongside US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
CNN geo-located and analyzed social media videos over the past several days show a continuous build-up of armor and support vehicles less than 30 kilometers (about 18 miles) across the border in Russia.
US officials said they expected a ground invasion and air strikes if Russia launched an attack.
Russian missiles and bombs will fall through Ukraine. Communication will be jammed. Blinken said last week before the United Nations Security Council, describing how the United States believes a Russian attack on Ukraine would occur.
“After that, Russian tanks and soldiers will advance on key targets that have already been identified and drawn up in detailed plans.”
Newsweek first published this story.
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