Russia, which is seeking a pledge that NATO won't expand to include Ukraine, has options it could pursue short of a full-blown invasion.
WASHINGTON -- Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be preparing to launch an invasion of Ukraine, with more than 100,000 troops positioned around the country. Certainly, the U.S. believes that's the case and President Joe Biden has warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that an attack could come in February.
Putin has some economic leverage, but there's no indication he would use it and it could end up hurting Russia in the long run, says Edward Fishman, a former State Department official who is now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center. Any move by Russia to cut off gas shipments would push European nations to find alternative sources for the future."It's a weapon you can only use once," he said."You do that once and you lose that leverage forever.
U.S. officials have said they don't think Russia would launch an invasion as President Xi Jinping presides over the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing."The Chinese are not going to be pleased if their Olympics are disrupted by war," Gorenburg said. Putin plans to travel to Beijing to attend the opening of the games, as U.S. and European leaders sit it out to protest human rights abuses.
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