It was stated during a briefing at the White House by US President’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, citing intelligence.

According to Sullivan, the United States is “ready to respond”. However, Biden’s adviser noted that the United States has no evidence that Russia has decided on military aggression against Ukraine.

“It needs to be clear that there is no potential invasion. It already happened in 2014 and is ongoing. We can only talk about the continuation of further escalation and increase in the level of aggression, but not about a new invasion”, - Serhiy Mokrenyuk, a representative of the National Council of Ukrainians of Crimea, told Suspilne Crimea.

The US has evidence that the operatives are trained in urban warfare and in using explosives to carry out acts of sabotage against Russia’s own proxy forces.

“Our position is clear. “If the Russian military crosses the Ukrainian border to seize its territory, it will be a further invasion of Ukraine, and it will provoke a reaction from the United States and the international community”, - Sullivan said.

The adviser to the US president stressed that the US is in favour of a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but in the event of continued Russian aggression, they are ready to respond.

According to military expert Oleksandr Musienko, the diplomatic method is fully effective.

“Currently, all efforts of Ukrainian foreign policy should be focused on providing appropriate options. The first is to inform our partners that Ukraine is a powerful ally and security in Europe is impossible without us. To strengthen Ukraine, we need to get joint weapons production with the United States and other NATO members. The second aspect, no less important, is preventive sanctions against Russia and constant political and diplomatic pressure”, - the expert told Suspilne Crimea.

He added that threats from Russia are constantly increasing and becoming more radical.

“All this shows that Putin is not ready for full-scale action. He continues to watch the US reaction”, -  Musienko said.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky offered US President Joe Biden tripartite talks with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The head of the OP, Andriy Yermak, spoke about it during a speech at the Atlantic Council on January 14.

According to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the US "accepted the proposal eagerly", but Kyiv is still waiting for Russia's reaction.

Serhiy Mokrenyuk stressed that the main task of Ukraine is to protect our citizens and their interests.

"We have to count on our partners. First of all, it is the United States, because it clearly shows its position on cooperation and the path of Ukraine's integration into NATO. We ourselves must work productively and demonstrate our skills to count on greater support and assistance”, -  he said.

The lawyer adds that a false Russian story is being actively spread in Ukraine.

"An interesting point is that every year our law enforcement agencies stop the threat of terrorist and sabotage acts. This information is enough in the public domain to suggest that Russia is constantly committing acts that we can view as sabotage. They are already present in our country. It is necessary to understand that the neighbour next to us is absolutely inadequate, and our efforts to stop their activities in our country should be as effective as possible”, - Serhiy Mokrenyuk said.

Three rounds of talks on Russia's actions and European security took place this week: US-Russian bilateral talks, a Russia-NATO Council meeting, and OSCE talks. Significant progress was not reported on their results.

The meetings took place at a time when Moscow had accumulated tanks, artillery, and about 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and, according to the fears of the West and Kyiv, may be preparing a new invasion.

"It is important to understand that the war is multi-vector. One should not think that Russia can be limited to classic military operations: tanks, artillery, etc. Of course, one of the elements of the war is the use of cyber operations, terrorist attacks, destabilization of the internal situation in the country and many other things. It is necessary to prepare for and counteract such threats from the Russian Federation”, - Oleksandr Musienko said.