Update: The US is urging Americans to leave Ukraine now. At an afternoon briefing, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said new intelligence suggested Russia could invade any day now, even with the Olympics in progress. "We want to be crystal clear on this point—any American in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible, and in any event in the next 24 to 48 hours," said Sullivan, per NBC News. He emphasized that he's not saying Putin will invade, only that the likelihood appears to be growing. Meanwhile, President Biden ordered 3,000 more troops to Poland, per the AP. Our story from earlier Friday follows:
American citizens still in Ukraine should get out because US troops won't be able to rescue them if Russia invades, President Biden warned Thursday night. "It’s not like we're dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world," the president told NBC. "It’s a very different situation, and things could go crazy quickly." When Lester Holt asked him if there was a scenario in which he would send troops to rescue Americans after a Russian invasion, Biden replied: "There's not. That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another."
The State Department also issued a warning that the government "will not be able to evacuate US citizens in the event of Russian military action anywhere in Ukraine." Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said an invasion could happen before the Beijing Olympics end on Feb. 20. "Simply put, we continue to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border,” Blinken said, per the AP. "We're in a window when an invasion could begin at any time and, to be clear, that includes during the Olympics."
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Blinken was speaking at a meeting of foreign ministers in Canberra, where Marise Payne, his Australian counterpart, warned that the strengthened alliance between Russia and China is concerning because it doesn't "represent a global order" that squares with "ambitions for freedom and openness and sovereignty and the protection of territorial integrity." At a press conference in Brussels, meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he doesn't believe Russia has made a firm decision to invade Ukraine, but the intelligence "remains grim," the BBC reports. Russia, which has 100,000 troops near the border and has launched massive military exercises with Belarus, denies that it has any plans to invade its neighbor. (More Ukraine stories.)
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