The United States said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "as ready as he can be" for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with nearly 100 percent of the necessary military forces already in place.

"We assess today that he is near 100 percent of all the forces that we anticipated that he would move in. He is dang near at 100 percent," a US defense official told reporters on grounds of anonymity.

The official said that 80 percent of the estimated 150,000-plus Russian forces along the Ukraine border are in "ready positions": spread out in attack formation within a few kilometers of the frontier.

"He is as ready as he can be," the official said. "Whether they actually go or not is really up to Mr. Putin ... They could go at any hour now."

While US President Joe Biden said Tuesday the invasion is "beginning," administration officials say that do not yet have evidence that Russian forces have crossed the border into Ukraine.

"We still cannot confirm that Russian military forces have moved in the Donbas areas," the defense official said.

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Belarus says Russian forces to remain for more drills
Moscow (AFP) Feb 20, 2022
Belarus said Sunday that joint exercises involving Russia and Belarus forces were being extended due to tension over Ukraine, despite promises from Moscow that the drills would end this weekend. "The presidents of Belarus and Russia decided to continue inspections of the readiness of Union State forces," the Belarusian defence minister Victor Khrenin said in a statement. He said the decision was taken due to increased military activity along the Belarusian and Russian borders and because of an " ... read more