campaign of destabilization
\n Washington
\nMore than 40 percent of the Russian forces on the Ukraine border are now in position for attack and Moscow has begun a campaign of destabilization, a US defense official said.
\nThe United States, which estimates that Russia has placed more than 150,000 troops near Ukraine\u2019s borders, has observed significant movements since Wednesday, the official said, insisting on anonymity.
\n\u201cForty to fifty percent are in an attack position. They have uncoiled in tactical assembly in the last 48 hours,\u201d the official told reporters.
\nTactical assembly points are areas next to the border where military units are set up in advance of an attack.
\nThe official said Moscow had massed 125 battalion tactical groups close to the Ukraine border, compared to 60 in normal times and up from 80 at the beginning of February.
\nThe increase in clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine government forces in the southeastern Donbas region of Ukraine, and inflammatory claims by officials in Russia and Donbas, show that \u201cthe destabilization campaign has begun,\u201d the official said.
\nWashington has warned for weeks that Russia could provoke or fabricate an incident in the area to serve as a pretext for invading Ukraine.
\nUS Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told ABC News\u2019 \u201cThis Week\u201d that Russian President Vladimir Putin \u201chas a number of options available to him and he could attack in short order.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
campaign of destabilization Washington More than 40 percent of the Russian forces on the Ukraine border are now in position for attack and Moscow has begun a campaign of destabilization, a US defense official said. The United States, which estimates that Russia has placed more than 150,000 troops near Ukraine\u2019s borders, has observed significant movements […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-245455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n