National security adviser Jake Sullivan urged Americans still in Ukraine to depart the country within the next 24 to 48 hours.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan warned Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could come before the conclusion of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, but he did not say whether U.S. officials had determined whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a final decision on a course of action.
“As we’ve said before, we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time, should Vladimir Putin decide to order it,” Sullivan said at a White House news briefing. “I will not comment on the details of our intelligence information, but I do want to be clear: It could begin during the Olympics, despite a lot of speculation that it would only happen after the Olympics.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously said Friday at a news conference in Melbourne, Australia, that an invasion “could begin at any time, and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics.”
Sullivan also urged Americans still in Ukraine to depart the country within the next two days, saying President Joe Biden would not send troops into harm’s way to evacuate U.S. citizens who could have left the Eastern European country when they had the chance.
“We want to be crystal clear on this point: Any American in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible and, in any event, in the next 24 to 48 hours,” Sullivan said, adding: “If you stay, you are assuming risk with no guarantee that there will be any other opportunity to leave and no prospect of a U.S. military evacuation in the event of a Russian invasion.”
Sullivan went on to describe, seemingly for the first time, what the opening campaign of a Russian invasion would look like in Ukraine. Such an attack “is likely to begin with aerial bombing and missile attacks that could obviously kill civilians without regard to their nationality,” he said.
“A subsequent ground invasion would involve the onslaught of a massive force,” Sullivan continued. “With virtually no notice, communications to arrange a departure could be severed and commercial transit halted. No one would be able to count on air or rail or road departures once military action got underway.”
Sullivan’s statements represent the direst U.S. assessment of the Russia-Ukraine conflict over months of escalating tensions between Moscow and the West. Still, he declined Friday to say whether the intelligence community was certain about Putin’s ultimate intentions.
“We are not saying that a decision has been taken — a final decision — has been taken by President Putin,” Sullivan said. “What we are saying is that we have a sufficient level of concern based on what we are seeing on the ground and what our intelligence analysts have picked up.”
Thus far, the Biden administration has sought to pursue a dual-track approach to the security crisis that leaves open the door to diplomacy with Moscow while warning of punishing international sanctions should Putin move his troops across Ukraine’s borders.
But the likelihood of an invasion has only increased in recent days, as Russia has begun joint military exercises with Belarus.
President Joe Biden departed the White House for Camp David Friday afternoon, without stopping to take questions from the press. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she expects Biden to be in touch with his national security team and foreign counterparts this weekend at Camp David, which is “fully equipped to have engagements of all sorts.”
Myah Ward contributed to this report.
