Sullivan Dismisses Russian “Invasion Order” Rumors

By Staff, Agencies

The Biden administration has gotten its messages tangled once again, with “Western and defense officials” telling the US Public Broadcasting Service [PBS] that the Kremlin had handed Russian generals invasion plans and a chief military adviser having to publicly walk that story back.

“We are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time, should Vladimir Putin decide to order it,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at a regular press conference on Friday.

“I will not comment on the details of our intelligence information, but I want to be clear: it could begin during the Olympics, despite a lot of speculation that it would only happen after the Olympics. As we’ve said before, we are ready either way,” he added.

He said that if Russia does invade Ukraine, the US would “respond decisively” with a slew of sanctions in conjunction with several other US allies, and “changes to NATO and the American force posture along the eastern flank of NATO,” as well as “continued support to Ukraine.”

“Whatever happens next, the West is more united than it’s been in years,” Sullivan said, adding that NATO has been “enhanced.”

In addition, the national security adviser urged all Americans in Ukraine to leave the country in the next 48 hours, claiming “the risk is now high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that this is what prudence demands.”

Sullivan then laid out what the White House says it expects a supposed Russian invasion of Ukraine to look like, saying it would “begin with aerial bombing and missile attacks that could obviously kill civilians without regard to their nationality.”

“A subsequent ground invasion would involve the onslaught of a massive force,” he added.

However, Sullivan was competing with another narrative circulating on social media on Friday afternoon. PBS correspondent Nick Schifrin tweeted that “The US believes Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine, and has communicated that decision to the Russian military, three Western and defense officials tell me.”

“The US expects the invasion to begin next week, six US and Western officials tell me,” Schifirin said, adding: “US officials anticipate a horrific, bloody campaign that begins with two days or aerial bombardment and electronic warfare, followed by an invasion, with the possible goal of regime change.”

Sullivan was asked about the PBS report at the presser and said the report “does not accurately capture what the US government’s view is today. Our view is that we do not believe he has made any kind of final decision - or we don’t know that he has made any final decision and we have not communicated that to anybody.”

“We have not seen anything that says a final decision has been taken and the ‘go’ order has been given,” he added.