Washington. February 19. INTERFAX - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin believes that Russia is already ready to invade Ukraine in the near future.
"I don't believe this is a bluff," he said in an interview with ABC in response to a question.
According to the minister, Russia "has several options available, and it can attack in the shortest possible time."
"I think they have gathered everything they need, what they might need for a successful invasion," he added.
Austin said that if Russian troops had remained in places of permanent deployment, then in the area of the border with Ukraine "we would not have seen such things in terms of not only combat power, but also logistical support, medical support, combat aviation, which we are now seeing in the region."
US President Joe Biden told reporters that he has reason to believe that Russia has already decided to invade Ukraine, but did not rule out the possibility of a diplomatic solution.
"We have reason to believe that this decision (on the attack) has been made," Biden said, answering a journalist's question.
At the same time, he noted that there is still time for Russia to choose a diplomatic path to resolve the situation.
