White House believes Russia able to attack Ukraine at any time

10:37, 19.01.2022 1 min read

Russia is currently capable of launching an attack on Ukraine at any moment, White House press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.

"We're now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack in Ukraine," she said a briefing.

"But where things stand right now: President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin has created this crisis by amassing 100,000 Russian troops along Ukraine's borders. This includes moving Russian forces into Belarus recently for joint exercises and conducting additional exercises on Ukraine’s eastern border," she noted.

Psaki recalled the talks scheduled for Friday between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to her, Blinken will emphasize at the talks the need to de-escalate the situation and point out the potential for a diplomatic settlement of the situation. However, Psaki added, Russia will have to decide whether it will face the economic consequences of its actions.