Moscow: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday, said Russia has sent more forces to its border with Ukraine and could launch an invasion at any time, including during the Beijing Winter Olympics.
He added that Washington was continuing to “drawdown” its embassy in Ukraine and repeated a State Department call to American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country immediately. “As we’ve said before, we’re in a window when an invasion could begin at any time, and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics, he re-iterated.”
Russia has been deploying thousands of naval warships at the Black Sea border neighbouring the ex-Soviet Union. On being questioned on its thoughts to impede Ukraine Russia denies it, saying it is holding a naval exercise in its borders which it has the right to. Earlier on Thursday, President Joe Biden warned all American citizens residing in Ukraine to leave the country immediately foreseeing a war.
Ukraine and Western countries have been accusing Russia of military build-up along the Ukrainian border in preparation for an alleged incursion. Russia has rejected these accusations. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia was not threatening anyone, but it was being threatened. Moreover, Russia has warned Western counterparts supplying lethal weaponry to Ukraine that the latter could use it against the breakaway parts of the Donbas region.