US National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan has warned of a "very distinct" possibility that Russia could attack Ukraine "any time now."
"We believe that there is a very distinct possibility that Vladimir Putin will order an attack on Ukraine. It could take a number of different forms. It could happen as soon as tomorrow or it could take some weeks yet," Sullivan said in an interview with ABC "This Week" Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday.
"Putin has put himself in a position with military deployments, to be able to act aggressively against Ukraine at any time now," he added
Notably, a plane carrying US soldiers landed in southern Poland on Sunday, on US President Joe Biden's order to deploy additional US troops to Poland, Romania and Germany this week, amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
"If they choose to go down the path of escalation instead, it will come at enormous human cost to Ukrainians. But it will also, we believe, over time, come at real strategic cost to Vladimir Putin," the US' National Security Adviser Sullivan said in the interview.
Moreover, the 1,700 US soldiers sent to Poland will operate in the country's eastern-southern part, according to the Polish Defence Ministry.
Sullivan, replying to a question on diplomacy, said "We have since the beginning for months now, as we have warned about the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, pursued a two-track approach, deterrence and diplomacy,", reported ABC News.
He made clear that the US is ready to discuss matters of European security with Russia.
"Those forces you just referred to have not been sent to fight Russian forces in Ukraine. They have been sent to defend NATO territory because we have a sacred obligation under Article 5 to defend our NATO allies and to send a clear message to Russia, that if it tries to take any military action or aggression against our NATO allies, it will be met with a stiff response, including by the U.S. forces who are on the ground there now,", he added.
Further commenting on a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Sullivan said, "I'm not going to make a prediction about what is going to unfold in the coming days. All I'm going to say is that we, the United States, under the direction of President Biden, are ready either way,"
"We are ready," he said, adding, "And we are ready to respond in a united, swift and severe way with our allies and partners should he choose to move forward with a military escalation."
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor