U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan gave a stern warning to Americans living in Ukraine after revealing Washington believes Vladimir Putin will invade Ukraine: get out now because the U.S. will not be coming back to rescue anyone.
'We encourage all American citizens who remain in Ukraine to depart immediately,' Sullivan said.
'We want to be crystal clear on this point. Any American in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible and in any event in the next 24 to 48 hours.'
'The risk is now high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that this is what prudence demands. If you stay you are assuming risk, with no guarantee that there will be any other opportunity to leave and there is no prospect of a U.S. military evacuation in the event of a Russian invasion.'
Meanwhile the U.S. is surging 3,000 additional troops to Poland to back up NATO forces, according to Reuters.
'We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border,' Sullivan told reporters.
They are in addition to the 8,500 troops already on alert to be ready to deploy to Europe if needed and the nearly 3,000 American troops the administration said earlier this month it would deploy to Poland and Romania.
The U.S. has not confirmed how many troops Putin has amassed on the Ukrainian border only revealing the number is above 100,000.
Sullivan did not mince words for those who choose to remain: 'The president will not be putting the lives of our men and women in uniform at risk by sending them into a war zone to rescue people who could have left now but chose not to.'
The stern warning came after reporting the U.S. now believes that President Vladimir Putin of Russia has made up his mind to invade Ukraine and will make its move next week, following months of military build-up.
Sullivan said that the invasion could come before the end of the Beijing Olympics, which conclude next week on Feb. 20. But he said that the U.S. is still not sure whether Putin has put in action a plan to invade.
Asked if Putin risks upsetting Chinese President Xi by moving during the Olympics, Sullivan said: 'Putin will obviously have to decide.'
'As we've said before, we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time should Vladimir Putin decide to order it.'
'We are not saying that a final decision has been taken by Putin,' he added.
Still, the national security advisor said Washington 'can't pinpoint the day, can't pinpoint the hour' when the Russians could invade Ukraine. He also said he did not know how many Americans remained in Ukraine.
Sullivan warned of potential. bombings, missile attacks and a potential shutdown of air, rail and road travel.
'If a Russian attack on Ukraine precedes it is likely to begin with aerial bombing. And missile attacks that could obviously kill civilians now with regard to their nationality. A subsequent ground invasion would involve the onslaught of a massive force. with virtually no notice communications to arrange a departure could be severed and commercial transit halted. No one would be able to count on air or rail or road departures once military action got underway,' he added.
President Joe Biden on Friday met virtually with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Britain's Boris Johnson and other world leaders on Friday morning to brief them on developments.
Soon after the meeting finished it emerged that U.S. and Western officials now think that Russia will invade next week, according to PBS reporter Nick Schifrin.
'US officials anticipate a horrific, bloody campaign that begins with two days or aerial bombardment and electronic warfare, followed by an invasion, with the possible goal of regime change,' he tweeted.
A diplomatic source said the strategy now was to intensify efforts to spell out the cost to Putin of invasion.
'The message has to be that he cannot win,' the source told DailyMail.com.
It comes as allies step up efforts to get their nationals to safety.
Britain on Friday advised citizens to leave immediately while commercial flights were available.
The developments come after a series of warnings for Americans to get out of Ukraine immediately.
Earlier the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined what he said were 'very troubling signs of Russian escalation.
'We're in a window when an invasion could begin at any time – and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics,' he said.
A Russian tank takes part in drills in a photograph released by the Russian Defense Ministry
A satellite image taken by Maxar Technologies shows a Russian deployment at Zyabrovka airfield in Gomel, Belarus, less than 15 miles from the border with Ukraine
A Russian video of air defence crews taking up position during joint military exercises with Belarus that began on Thursday, further raising the stakes
Another 130 tons of U.S. weapons - including Javelin anti-tank missiles - arrived in Ukraine on Thursday night in response to the 120,000 Russian troops amassed along the country's border
A Ukrainian service member unpacks Javelin anti-tank missiles, delivered by plane as part of the U.S. military support package for Ukraine, at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 10.
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