Russia has hit out at claims tens of thousands of Ukrainians could soon be caught up in fierce fighting as part of a Moscow-backed invasion, with one of the country’s top diplomats rejecting reports that preparations for a lightning war are almost complete.
The Washington Post reported this weekend that officials had briefed lawmakers and European partners on new assessments showing that Russia had gathered more forces near its border with Ukraine and could soon launch an attack that would reach Kiev in just two days, killing 50,000 and causing up to five million refugees to flee the chaos.
Sources familiar with the briefings told the newspaper that Moscow had readied about 70% of the forces necessary for such an invasion, with one official putting the total number of Russian personnel on the border at 130,000. Analysts also reportedly deemed that the possibility for a diplomatic solution to the crisis was becoming less likely, with one European official saying, “Our worry would be that you don’t park battle groups … on the border of another country twice and do nothing.”