White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday the U.S. believes Russia is planning an “extremely violent” invasion of Ukraine, saying Moscow will seek to “crush” the Ukrainian people.
“We believe that any military operation of the size, scope and magnitude of what we believe the Russians are planning will be extremely violent. It will cost the lives of Ukrainians and Russians, civilians and military personnel alike,” Sullivan said during an appearance on NBC’s “Today.”
“But we also have intelligence to suggest that there will be an even greater form of brutality because this will not simply be some conventional war between two armies,” he added. “It will be a war waged by Russia on the Ukrainian people to repress them, to crush them, to harm them.”
Up to 190,000 Russian soldiers are believed to have amassed near Ukraine’s borders. Russian officials have denied these numbers and have recently claimed that some of their forces are moving away from Ukraine, though the Biden administration has dismissed those assertions.
On Sunday, officials announced that joint military exercises between Russia and Belarus that were set to end this week would be extended indefinitely.
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Source: the Hill
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