Russian military forces launched a sweeping military invasion of Ukraine just before dawn on Feb. 24, with local reports showing an intense barrage of air and artillery attacks while Russian ground forces streamed across Ukraine’s northern, eastern and southern borders.
Russia’s military forces deployed to the border with Ukraine are ready for a full invasion at a moment’s notice, and the Pentagon is warning that the U.S. and NATO understanding of the situation could degrade if forced to withdraw its reconnaissance aircraft from nearby airspace amid a conflict.
The U.S. government has extensively declassified information regarding Russia’s buildup of forces near Ukraine and the Kremlin’s possible plans to justify an invasion, and the head of the National Reconnaissance Office said that to an extent he supports further sharing of details to deter aggression.
The U.S. will forward deploy up to eight F-35As to NATO’s eastern flank and send 32 AH-64 attack helicopters to Poland and the Baltic region by the end of the week as tensions continue to flare between Russia and Ukraine.
