Next Wednesday, Feb. 16, is D-Day for the Russian invasion. At least that’s what the U.S. is reported to be telling its NATO allies. “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,” Secretary of State Tony Blinken said in Australia, according to a report yesterday in the Washington Post. According to one Western official, Moscow’s military preparations for a full-scale invasion are complete. “Militarily it can start within days,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. “It’s up to Putin.”
Nick Schifrin of the PBS Newshour, claimed last night that he had been told that Russian President Vladimir Putin has already made the decision to invade, though National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan didn’t go so far as to say that yesterday. “And Western and U.S. officials tell me that, in recent days, the U.S. saw those forces increase their readiness for a possible invasion. And U.S. officials became convinced that the timeline is being accelerated into next week,” he said. “And so those facts combined led U.S. and military officials to brief their NATO allies. And three Western and U.S. officials tell me that President Vladimir Putin had made the decision to invade.”
