January 1, White House Says Russia Planning ‘Extremely Violent’ Operation

The Biden administration’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, said the U.S. believes Russia is planning an “extremely violent” invasion of Ukraine.

“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.”

Sullivan said that the U.S. is “prepared to respond decisively if Russia moves on Ukraine and we’re prepared for diplomacy to settle this peacefully, including at the highest level.”

Russian officials have said that some of its troops are moving away from the border, but the White House has denied those assertions.

According to Sullivan, “every indication we see on the ground right now in terms of the disposition of Russian forces is that they are in fact getting prepared for a major attack on Ukraine.”

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Sullivan: Russia planning ‘extremely violent’ operation to ‘crush’ Ukraine