A senior US official said on Sunday that the US will announce its “next steps” over Ukraine crisis. The statement came after intense diplomacy failed to ease the threat of a new conflict over Ukraine
Amid mounting fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, national security advisor Jake Sullivan said the US was “ready either way.”
“We’re in close touch with our allies and partners, including the Ukrainians,” the top advisor to President Joe Biden told CBS. “We’re coordinating closely on next steps. And we’ll have more to share in terms of the next steps into the diplomacy early next week.”
“But the key point here is that we’re ready either way. If Russia wants to move forward with diplomacy, we are absolutely ready to do that in lockstep with our allies and partners.
“If Russia wants to go down the path of invasion and escalation, we’re ready for that too, with a robust response.”
Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine. Though Russia claims that it does not plan to invade Ukraine, tensions are high.
The Kremlin again insisted on Sunday that it did not want to lead “a military action,” even while warning of unnamed “counter actions” if NATO rejects Moscow’s demands to lessen its military presence in Eastern Europe.
Meantime, officials in Kiev said Sunday they had proof that Moscow was involved in what they called a “massive cyberattack on government websites” in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement.
(With inputs from agencies)
