The United States said Sunday that it had intelligence indicating that orders had been sent to Russian commanders to proceed with an attack on Ukraine, according to two US officials and another source familiar with US intelligence.
The order’s information for tactical commanders and intelligence agents is one of several indicators the US is looking at to assess whether Russian preparations have entered their final stages for a possible invasion.
Other indicators, such as electronic interference and widespread cyber attacks, have yet to be observed, according to some of the sources.
The sources warned that orders could always be withdrawn or that it could be disinformation designed to confuse and mislead the US and its allies. But the intelligence news comes after President Biden said on Friday that he believes Putin made the decision to invade – a comment echoed by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday.
Blinken said the Russian playbook is “moving forward”. “We believe that President Putin has made the decision,” Blinken said on Sunday (20) in an interview with CNN. “But until the tanks are really rolling and the planes are flying, let’s take every opportunity and every minute that we have to see if diplomacy can still dissuade President Putin from taking this further.”
The Washington Post first reported on orders sent to commanders.
*Katie Bo Lillis of CNN contributed to this report
Source: CNN Brasil
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