[사진 제공: 연합뉴스]
[우크라이나 침공 `D-데이` 16일? 20일?…”푸틴만이 안다”]
With the US and other Western countries making it a known fact that Russia may invade Ukraine, attention is focused on the actual date of the attack.
Archyde.com reported that the West is working on a concrete forecast, saying predictions regarding the date of the invasion of Ukraine are causing market turmoil.
The most probable ‘D-Day’ currently known is the 16th.
This was highlighted when the US media Politico reported that US President Joe Biden presented the 16th as ‘D-Day’ in a videoconference with European leaders on the 11th, citing three sources in the US, UK and Ukraine. That’s it.
The U.S. government has not confirmed this, but on the 11th, it urged Americans in Ukraine to evacuate within 48 hours, and on the 15th, it closed the embassy in the capital Kiev, increasing its credibility.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Russia the day before on the 15th to meet with President Vladimir Putin, and the British media Guardian also introduced the prospect that this visit might be the last chance to resolve the situation.
Ukraine even declared the 16th a ‘day of unity’, although it did not expect an actual attack.
[베이징 올림픽 끝나는 20일도 D-데이 중 하나]
The coming 20th is also being mentioned as one of the D-days.
Russia’s ongoing joint military exercise with Ukraine’s neighboring country Belarus will end on the 20th, and the Beijing Winter Olympics will also end on the 20th.
This comes from the prospect that President Vladimir Putin might avoid an attack during the Olympics, given his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Coincidentally, the international security conference to be held in Munich, Germany will also end on the 20th, attended by US Vice President Camella Harris, Secretary of State Tony Blincoln, and top European leaders.
[미국 “침공은 언제든지 일어날 수 있다”]
Even if not on the 16th and 20th, US officials continue to give the message that an invasion might happen at any time.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN that Russia was “at a stage where it might strike before the closing of the 2022 Beijing Olympics on the 20th.”
White House deputy spokeswoman Carine Jean-Pierre said an invasion might happen at any time and might start this week.
However, whether Russia invades Ukraine, and if so, when the D-day will be, will depend on the final decision maker, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he did not see Putin as the final decision on whether to invade, but said “military action might occur at any time.”
Archyde.com reported that US officials are in the position that only President Putin knows for sure regarding Russia’s actual invasion of Ukraine.
