Russia has the military capability to invade Ukraine and can capture cities and large areas in that country. This was stated by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a press conference.

“We do not believe that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has made the final decision to use his armed forces against Ukraine. Now he certainly has such an opportunity. And he has many options at his disposal, including the capture of cities and large territories, but also, of course, actions or provocative political acts, such as the recognition of breakaway territories, ”the minister emphasized.

At the same time, the minister stressed that the United States adheres to the diplomatic resolution of the situation around Ukraine.

“Conflict is not inevitable. There is still time and space for diplomacy,” he said.

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO would be ready to deploy additional alliance forces in the east in the event of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

According to him, the alliance must be ready to deploy a 5,000-strong vanguard of the French-led Response Force as a warning that NATO will protect all countries of the alliance. At the same time, Stoltenberg stressed that the alliance "prefers the diplomatic way of preventing a conflict in Ukraine" with "warnings to Russia about the consequences of its actions" and the provision of military assistance to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy urged the United States to abandon plans to supply weapons to Ukraine and "stop tantrums" about the attack.

bbabo.Net