US Defence Secretary say Russian forces were beginning to \u2018uncoil and move closer\u2019
\n Washington
\nPresident Joe Biden said he is \u201cconvinced\u201d that Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine within the week, an event that would trigger Western sanctions set to turn Russia into what a US official called a \u201cpariah.\u201d
\n\u201cAs of this moment I\u2019m convinced he s made the decision,\u201d Biden said in televised remarks at the White House.
\nBiden said the attack could come in the next \u201cweek\u201d or \u201cdays\u201d and that targets would include the capital Kyiv, \u201ca city of 2.8 million innocent people.\u201d
\nThe US leader insisted it was \u201cnot too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table,\u201d but warned that if an attack comes, the Russian president will have \u201cslammed the door shut on diplomacy.\u201d
\nThe Kremlin insists it has no plans to attack its neighbor, which has angered Russia by seeking long-term integration with NATO and the European Union.
\nHowever, the United States says that with an estimated 149,000 Russian troops on Ukraine s borders — as many as 190,000, when including the Russian-backed separatist forces in the east — it\u2019s only a matter of when.
\nAdding to jitters, Russia s defense ministry announced that Putin would personally oversee previously scheduled drills involving nuclear-capable missiles on Saturday.
\nAnd on the ground in Ukraine s disputed east, sporadic clashes fed a growing sense of dread.
\nAn AFP reporter near the front between Ukrainian government forces and the pro-Russian territory in the Lugansk region heard explosions and saw damaged civilian buildings on Kyiv s side of the line.
\nThere were growing fears that only a spark — which Washington warns could be a deliberate \u201cfalse flag\u201d incident created by the Russians — might now be needed to set off the largest military confrontation in Europe since World War II.
\nA US defense official said that more than 40 percent of the troops surrounding Ukraine were now \u201cuncoiled\u201d in a position to go on the offensive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US Defence Secretary say Russian forces were beginning to \u2018uncoil and move closer\u2019 Washington President Joe Biden said he is \u201cconvinced\u201d that Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine within the week, an event that would trigger Western sanctions set to turn Russia into what a US official called a \u201cpariah.\u201d \u201cAs of this moment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[458,503,456,633],"class_list":{"0":"post-245472","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-invade","9":"tag-joe-biden","10":"tag-ukraine","11":"tag-vladimir-putin"},"yoast_head":"\n