US On High Alert As Satellite Photos Indicate Russia Has Increased Readiness

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has stated that the United States is on high alert, waiting for Russian President Vladimir Putin to make his next move as Satellite photos taken by Maxar suggest that Russian troops are on an increased level of readiness compared to earlier satellite photos taken.

New satellite photos taken by Maxar show an increased level of activity by Russian troops surrounding the Ukrainian border in Belarus, Crimea and Western Russia. Sign up for one or more of our Social Media accounts to receive the latest alerts and see the photos.

There are now more Russian troop deployments around Ukraine and, unlike before, now almost every satellite photo taken shows tents or shelters for military personnel. These tents or shelters were not set up in earlier satellite photos.

That, coupled with the fact that Russia has been transporting blood supplies to locations near the Ukrainian border shows an increased level of readiness. Refrigerated blood supplies are said to only last a maximum of 42 days before going bad. This indicates that Russia may be planning an invasion on Ukraine within the next 40 or so days.

The Pentagon has confirmed troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are being sent to Poland in the next few days while others are on high alert for deployment to Germany and Romania.

Russia also made an announcement stating that a squadron of Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets completed a 5,000 mile trip across 11 time zones from their base in the Sea of Japan to Belarus.

While Russia claims that their forces stationed in Belarus are for military exercises only, the date on which the 'exercises' end is suspiciously February 20th, the same day that the Winter Olympic Games end, a date that the Pentagon is closely watching.

The Pentagon is watching February 20th due to the fact that Russia's first invasion of Ukraine in 2014 happened on February 20th, during the finishing of the Winter Olympic games that were held that year.

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has put out a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be visiting China on the invitation of the Chinese to attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing

"The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement says "On February 4, President Vladimir #Putin will visit China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping and will attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games @Beijing2022. The two leaders to hold bilateral talks".

The President of Russia's website also put out a statement saying, "On February 4, Vladimir Putin will visit China and attend XXIV Olympic Winter Games’ opening ceremony. On February 4, Vladimir Putin will visit China at the invitation of President of People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping and will attend the opening ceremony of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games".

"During his visit, Vladimir Putin will have top level talks to discuss the current state and development prospects of Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. A wide range of issues related to practical cooperation in the areas of trade, the economy, energy, finance, investment, science and culture will be discussed".

"The two leaders will also review topical international and regional matters. Following the visit, they are expected to adopt a joint statement that sets out Russia and China’s shared approaches to addressing key global issues".

Meanwhile, both the United States and Britain have either flat out said, or indicated that they will not be Sending Ground Troops to Ukraine in order to fight against Russian troops if the Kremlin does decide to invade the country. This does not mean however, that other options, such as airstrikes and drones are not currently on the table.

A new email alert that has been issued by the US embassy in Ukraine has advised Americans to contact the U.S. Embassy if they need financial assistance to purchase an airplane ticket out of the country.

The email sent out by the US embassy stated "If you need financial assistance to purchase a ticket to the United States or if no seats are available on departing flights".

The Foreign Ministers of Germany, France, Austria, Czech Republic And Slovakia are set to visit Ukraine next week according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko.

Nikolenko announced the visits in an online briefing on February 1st, and also stated that the Prime Ministers of Great Britain, Poland and the Netherlands were also visiting Ukraine officially on February 1st.

"On February 7-8, the foreign ministers of Germany and France will pay a joint visit to Ukraine, including to Donbas. Next week, Dmytro Kuleba will also hold talks in Kyiv with the foreign ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia" Nikolenko stated.

Nikolenko said that the Ukrainian government is currently working with international partners to deter any further Russian escalation.

"No one knows what is going on in the head of Russia's leadership, but we know for sure that with such an intensive presence of foreign top officials in Ukraine, the risks of further aggression are decreasing" he stated according to Ukrainian national news outlet Ukrinform.

Meanwhile, thousands of Russians, including intellectuals and activists are urging the Kremlin to avoid an 'immoral, irresponsible, and criminal' war with Ukraine.

Over 2,000 Russians which include well known rights activists and intellectuals have urged the Kremlin to avoid starting an 'immoral, irresponsible, and criminal' war on Ukraine in the midst of rising tensions in the region as Russia continues to build up forces, tanks and artillery near the Ukrainian border.

The Congress of Russian Intellectuals made a statement public during the weekend that said "The flow of disturbing information about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine is intensifying".

The statement also added "Russia does not need a war with Ukraine and the West. Nobody is threatening us, nobody is attacking us. The policy based on promoting the idea of such a war is immoral, irresponsible, and criminal, and cannot be implemented on behalf of Russia's peoples".

"Such a war cannot have either legal or moral goals.... Russian citizens are actually becoming hostages of a criminal adventurism into which Russia's foreign policy is being turned" the statement said.

The Ukrainian President has also stated that there will be a 'full fledged' European war if Russia decides to carry out an invasion on Ukraine despite his recent comments admonishing the US for creating a 'big hype' regarding an 'imminent' invasion".

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a Russian conflict with Ukraine would turn into a 'fully fledged' European war.

Zelensky met with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and stated at a press conference that "we have to be prepared for bad things" as fears continue to grow of an invasion by Russia, despite Zelensky's recent comments admonishing the United States for creating a 'big hype' by saying that an invasion is 'imminent'.

Zelensky stated "there will be a tragedy in case of powerful escalation against our state. Therefore I’m being very open – this is not going to be a war of Ukraine and Russia, this is going to be a European war, a full-fledged war. Because no one is going to give away territory any longer".

The Pentagon put out a Statement saying that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time and says that Putin 'has a lot of options available to him' and 'could execute some of those options imminently'.

A top Russian diplomat has stated that 2022 will be a year of crisis between the United States and Russia, and a New World Order is needed that weakens the U.S. on the world stage for peace between the two countries to be possible.