According to US intelligence, Russia intends to "crush" Ukraine with increased severity, as Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that diplomacy efforts had come to a halt. As Putin gathered his inner circle on Monday morning, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed the possibility of Russia launching a full-scale assault.
On Monday, Sullivan told ABC News' Good Morning America that "the possibility of a diplomatic settlement, given the Russians' moves - their army deployments, is lessening hour by hour."
Biden-Putin Summit Remains Uncertain
Biden agreed 'in principle' to meet with Putin, according to the White House on Sunday night. According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Europe on Thursday, 'if Russia does not take military action.'
Putin's closest advisors, though, encouraged him not to meet with Biden on Monday. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesperson, told reporters that there are no "clear plans" for a summit.
Military drills in Belarus, which were meant to finish on Sunday, have been prolonged indefinitely by Russia. More than 30,000 Russian troops and ballistic missile launchers and tanks are stationed on Ukraine's northern border, within striking distance of Kyiv.
On Saturday, US troops were seen putting equipment onto vehicles in Rzeszow, Poland, after Vice President Joe Biden approved the deployment of over 5,000 troops to the 4,000 currently stationed in the NATO partner, Metro reported.
According to a frightening letter from the US ambassador to the United Nations' European Office, Russia is developing a list of Ukrainians "to be murdered or deported to camps" in the event of an invasion.
Letter Reveals Russia's "Kill List"
According to an undated letter from Bathsheba Nell Crocker to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, the lists are being drawn up based on "credible information," and those targeted include Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, as well as vulnerable populations like religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ people.
The Washington Post got the letter first, and it was published late Sunday. It makes no mention of the intelligence that backs up Crocker's statements. In her letter to Bachelet, Crocker mentions "targeted assassinations, kidnappings/forced disappearances, unlawful detentions, and the use of torture" as examples of previous Russian human rights violations.
The envoy also warned that Russian soldiers would most likely use fatal force to suppress Ukrainian protests and other nonviolent rallies. Crocker also accused Russia of enabling ongoing human rights violations in Crimea, which Russia invaded from Ukraine in 2014. She told Bachelet that her letter should serve as "an early warning that a subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine may cause a human rights issue tragedy," as per New York Post.
According to the Kremlin, Putin is blaming the Ukrainian military for the escalation of hostilities. Ukraine has vehemently denied this, claiming that Moscow is waging a provocation campaign to create a pretext for action.
Earlier this week, Russia declared that military drills in Belarus, where 30,000 Russian troops are stationed, will be extended beyond Sunday. One reason for the exercises' extension, according to a Belarusian statement, is the "deterioration of the situation" in eastern Ukraine.
Putin has demanded guarantees that Ukraine, a former Soviet state with close links to Russia, will not be admitted to Nato, despite the Western alliance's denial that Ukraine constitutes a threat to Russia. There are worries that a Russian military intervention may spark a war even bloodier than the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has already claimed the lives of at least 14,000 people, according to BBC.
