Pentagon press secretary John Kirby warned on Sunday that the situation in Ukraine was “now turning into something of a growing opportunity for Mr. Putin”, according to US intelligence.
Asked by Fox News on Sunday about intelligence the Pentagon had seen suggesting that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time, Admiral Kirby said “it was a combination of factors,” including what the United States United saw “in full view” at the border.
“I think it’s a mosaic of intelligence that we see. I’m not talking about it specifically, but we have good intelligence sources and they’re telling us things are sort of gearing up now for some sort of bottom-up opportunity for Mr. Putin,” Kirby said.
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In a separate interview with MSNBC, Kirby provided another reading of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s phone call on Saturday with his Russian counterpart. That said, Austin remarked that “if one of the things President Putin said he didn’t want was a strong NATO and a strong NATO on his western flank, he would end up with that outcome” if the path conquest continued.
Kirby also confirmed on MSNBC that 160 Florida National Guard troops safely left Ukraine after the Pentagon ordered their evacuation on Saturday. These forces have been in Ukraine since November for a training mission.
Kirby said Austin “out of caution … decided it was time to get them out of the country.” The press officer added that the troops were already stationed near the Polish border and that it was “easy to get them out of the country”.
When asked if German Chancellor Olaf Schulz’s planned visit to Russia on Tuesday was a “last ditch”, Kirby replied: “I don’t know if I would say the last trench, but we certainly recognize that the element of time here seems to be shrinking which worries us all. But again, we said it and we still believe it today, there is still time and space for a diplomatic way. »
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