Low To Medium Risk of Russian Invasion of Ukraine in Next Few Weeks -US General
There is a “low to medium” risk that Russia will invade Ukraine over the next few weeks, the top U.S. general in Europe said on Thursday, in the first such military assessment amid mounting concern about Russian troop…
There is a “low to medium” risk that Russia will invade Ukraine over the next few weeks, the top U.S. general in Europe said on Thursday, in the first such military assessment amid mounting concern about Russian troop movements toward Ukraine’s borders.
Air Force General Tod Wolters declined to explain the intelligence driving his assessment, which does not suggest that the U.S. military expects a Russian invasion at this point, but he is not ruling one out or playing down the risk.
But, in testimony before a House of Representatives committee he later suggested his view about the risks in the coming weeks and months was at least partly based on the disposition of Russian forces.
The Pentagon has declined to detail its assessment on the size and composition of those troops, referring reporters to Moscow. However, the White House disclosed last week that Russia had more troops on Ukraine’s eastern border than at any time since 2014, when it annexed Crimea and backed separatist territory seizures.
Asked by a lawmaker on the Armed Services Committee to estimate the chances of an invasion in the next few weeks, Wolters said: “Low to medium.”
Pressed by another lawmaker to explain whether that risk would change after that period, Wolters kept his cards close, saying: “The answer is, it depends.”
“And I would have to take each and every second of the day from this point till tomorrow to give you a different answer,” said Wolters, who is both head of the U.S. military’s European Command and is NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe.
If the current trajectory stayed the same, however, Wolters estimated the risk of an invasion could decrease.