US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could start very soon, even before the end of the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympics.
“We can’t pinpoint the day, at this point, and we can’t pinpoint the hour, but what we can say is that a Russian military action would take place even before the end of the Olympics,” he said.
Sullivan added that the tensions in the region had become so dire that all Americans in Ukraine should leave “immediately” or “in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
“We don’t know exactly what is going to happen. But the risk is now high enough, and the threat is now immediate enough that this is what prudence demands.”
Sullivan told ABC News WH correspondent Mary Bruce that President Biden is expected to “engage by telephone with President Putin.”
“If you stay, you are assuming risk with no guarantee that there will be any other opportunity to leave, and there is no prospect of a US military evacuation in the event of a Russian invasion.”
President Biden on Thursday renewed his message to American citizens in Ukraine that he had made earlier this week, urging them to “leave now.”
“It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly,” he said.
