Russia Ready to Launch Invasion of Ukraine at Any Moment. US Ready to Provide “Additional Support”

On January 19, Blinken will visit Kyiv for a personal meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The White House said that Russia is ready to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine at any moment. 

Jen Psaki
White House press secretary

President Putin created this crisis by massing 100,000 Russian soldiers along Ukraine's borders, including Russian military units that arrived in Belarus for joint exercises. Therefore, our position is that this is an extremely dangerous situation. We have reached such a level of tension that Russia is ready to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine at any moment.

According to her, Secretary of State Blinken will once again stress that the US is ready for a diplomatic resolution of the situation, otherwise Russia “will have to decide whether it wants to face serious economic consequences.” 

Recall that on January 18, Blinken called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situation regarding Russian troops concentrated along Ukraine's borders. 

The Secretary of State reiterated that the US proposes resolving the situation through diplomatic negotiations. He also stressed that no decision on European security can be made without the participation of representatives of Ukraine and European countries. 

On January 19, Blinken will visit Kyiv for a personal meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, where they will discuss the situation with Russian troops on Ukraine's borders. He plans to meet with American diplomats and their families in Kyiv to discuss plans for evacuating American citizens in the event of a Russian attack. 

US Ready to Provide “Additional Support”

The US Department of Defense is ready to provide significant support to the Ukrainian army. 

John Kirby
Pentagon press secretary

We will continue to monitor the situation on the ground, and if we need to make a decision to strengthen protection, we will do so. 

According to him, the Pentagon continues to observe a large presence of Russian troops in western Russia, around Ukraine's eastern and northeastern borders. 

This is cause for concern, as it indicates Russia's unwillingness to contribute to de-escalation. A representative of the defense department noted that the US “will continue to look for ways to help Ukraine defend itself,” including by providing “additional security assistance.” 

Kirby recalled that instructors from the Florida National Guard are currently in Ukraine on a rotational basis, providing advisory assistance to their Ukrainian counterparts. This mission will continue. 

At the same time, “there are currently no plans to deploy additional forces on a rotational basis to Ukraine, and there are no changes in what the Florida National Guard is doing on the ground.” 

Epiphany Provocation

Government experts at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy have information that Russian military is preparing a provocation by shelling civilians during the Epiphany celebrations on January 19. 

“As the Center for Strategic Communications has learned, on January 19 occupation forces are preparing to shell worshippers during the Epiphany at the Kirpichny pond in Petrovsky District of Donetsk. The aim of the provocation may be to accuse Ukrainian military of an attack in order to create a pretext for escalation,” said a statement from the Center for Strategic Communications of the Ministry of Culture. 

Experts believe that Russian militants plan to carry out the shelling from a strongpoint at the Chelyuskintsev mine, located less than two kilometers from the pond. 

To disguise the direction of the shelling, the militants plan to turn on the main ventilation fan at the mine, which they previously switched on for no specific reason on January 15. 

According to experts at the Center, Russian military may even blow up the mine with weapons banned under the Minsk agreements.