Jake Sullivan: Russia Could Invade Ukraine 'in the Coming Hours or Days'

On Monday, National Security adviser Jake Sullivan warned that Russia could invade Ukraine “in the coming days or hours.”

Sullivan told NBC’s “Today” that what the Biden administration believes Russia is planning “will be extremely violent.” He emphasized that the administration will be “prepared” to respond to either an invasion or for diplomacy.

“We believe that any military operation of the size, scope and magnitude of what we believe the Russians are planning will be extremely violent,” Sullivan outlined. “It will cost the lives of Ukrainians and Russians, civilians and military personnel alike.”

“But we also have intelligence to suggest that there will be an even greater form of brutality because this will not simply be some conventional war between two armies,” he continued. “It will be a war waged by Russia on the Ukrainian people to repress them, to crush them, to harm them, and that is what we laid out in detail for the [United Nations] because we believe that the world must mobilize to counter this kind of Russian aggression should those tanks roll across the border, as we anticipate they very well may do in the coming hours or days.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent