Military chiefs in Kremlin will order an attack on Ukraine at 3am local time tomorrow, American intelligence agencies have stated.
After weeks of deepening tensions at the Ukraine border with Russia, intelligence sources have warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will begin on Wednesday afternoon with Europe on the brink of war despite Vladimir Putin pulling back some of his country’s forces -the Mirror reported on Tuesday.
The Russian invasion could target Kyiv’s military and government command and control centres with a barrage of air strikes before tanks roll over the border, the report notes.
At the same time Russian amphibious warships could storm Ukraine’s southern coastline. It comes as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned a Russian invasion ‘would not stop at Ukraine’
The ominous news arrives hours after Russia pulled back forces from the Ukraine border.
The Mirror’s report quoted a senior American source who warned their team in Kyiv with a simple one line message saying: “3am Wednesday.”
This comes as Britain warned “a Russian invasion of Ukraine is highly likely, could be imminent and would pose a threat to Europe’s wider stability.”
Russia has more than 126,000 troops massed near the eastern border of Ukraine. It also has 80,000 Moscow-loyal soldiers in Belarus to the north and thousands of marines on board warships in the Black Sea, threatening Ukraine’s southern coast.
Russian political leaders deny Western accusations that it is planning to invade, but say it could take unspecified “military-technical” action unless a range of demands are met, including barring Kyiv from ever joining the NATO alliance.
The US and Russia have drawn firm red lines that help explain what’s at stake.
The annexation of Crimea in 2014 was a ruthless success for Vladimir Putin but he wants more and claims he is concerned about NATO expanding eastwards. He wants guarantees NATO will not sign partnerships with Russia’s neighbors.
Putin demanded that NATO stop its eastward expansion and deny membership to Ukraine, and that NATO roll back troop deployment in countries that had joined after 1997, which would turn back the clock decades on Europe’s security and geopolitical alignment.
Despite the warning from America it is still believed there is a chance of halting war – but that is fading rapidly.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday agreed in a call on Monday that there was a crucial window for diplomacy.
But British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said an invasion could be imminent, and Russian troops could reach Kyiv “very, very quickly.”
Reports confirm that Ukrainian army is well-motivated, well-trained and has plans to tackle Russian troops through guerrilla warfare, flanking attacks and smashing supply lines – but Ukraine can not dominate the air.