The United States said on Sunday that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day now” and might create a surprise pretext for an attack, as the German chancellor prepared for talks this week with President Vladimir Putin to try to ease the crisis.
Washington has said the door for diplomacy remained open but it has also repeatedly said Russia’s military, which has more than 100,000 troops massed near Ukraine, was poised to act.
Moscow denies any such plans and has called comments “hysteria”, but no breakthrough that could ease the crisis has yet emerged from high-level talks between top Russian and Western officials in recent days.
