Just 4 hrs ago Joe Biden in his official statement said, ” We have not yet verified that the Russian military units are returning to their home bases. Indeed, our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position. WW2 was a war of necessity. But if Russia attacks Ukraine it would be a war of choice. The United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of the American power. An attack against one NATO country is an attack against all of us. The United States and our allies and partners around the world are ready to impose powerful sanctions on export controls including actions that did not, we did not pursue when Russia invaded Crimea in Eastern Ukraine in 2014. If Russia decides to invade, that would also have consequences here at home. But the American people understand that defending democracy and liberty is never without cost. There could be an impact on our energy prices. If we do not stand for freedom where it is at risk today, We’ll surely pay a steeper price tomorrow.
The Biden administration said that Putin has amassed about 150,000 military personnel on the Ukraine border.
Sergei Shoigu stated that they have returned some forces back to their garrisons. However, Joe Biden says this information is not yet verified.
On Tuesday the Defense Ministry of Ukraine’s websites and 2 banks had suffered a cyber-attack. The reason is unclear and Ukraine suffered such attacks before as well. Now all blames goes to Russia.
The type of cyber attack reported is a form of DDoS – Distributed denial of service, although how big the attack is it is not clear. Such maneuvers by sending a huge influx of internet traffic from multiple sources against one pack of servers or another. This is a very common type of internet offensive and such attacks in Ukraine have happened periodically.
If not a full-blown offensive, there are other less but impactful offensive ways Russia could pursue to impair Ukraine.
Joe Biden’s official speech comes hours after Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow’s demands for security concerns should be paid heed and be taken very seriously.
Factually speaking, Russia has very close-knit cultural and historical ties with its former Soviet republic Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin wants to be reassured that Ukraine will not join NATO. As any further expansion will be a direct threat to Russia. This demand stands canceled by NATO.
Biden’s administration promises continued diplomacy to Putin’s government. Anthony Blinken asked Sergei Shoigu to give “verifiable, credible and meaningful de-escalation.”
British PM Boris Johnson in his latest tweet said he was receiving “mixed signals” from Russia, that UK intelligence revealed Russian field hospitals units were being set up close to the border. If not for an invasion why would these be set up there?
