Russia Invasion Would Cost 50,000 Ukrainian Casualties Within Days

While the Biden administration has dropped the word "imminent" in its messaging on a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, a congressional defense briefing told lawmakers Russia could take Kyiv in 72 hours and a full-scale invasion would cause up to 50,000 Ukrainian casualties, according to reports.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley told House and Senate briefings last week the capital city of Kyiv could be taken in 72 hours, costing the lives of 4,000 Russia troops and 15,000 Ukrainian troops, sources told Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich.

"Our worry would be that you don't park battle groups," a European official told The Washington Post in a separate report predicting a large-scale invasion and 50,000 casualties, "on the border of another country twice and do nothing.

"I think that's the real fear that I have. [Russian President Vladimir Putin's] now put them all out there. If he does nothing again … what does that say to the wider international community about the might of Russia?"

The U.S. and European allies are lining up resources for a refugee and migrant crisis, expecting Ukrainians to flee, a source told Heinrich.

But Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov says the U.S. is amping up invasion talk as its own "alibi" for Western-backed aggression in the contests Donbas region, the Post reported.

"This lie is part of the information war against Russia," Antonov said. "Washington has been provoking the whole world for several months with statements that Ukraine is about to become a victim of 'Russian aggression.'"

Also, Russia Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova is claiming the U.S. is sparking war talk during the Beijing Winter Olympics as part of a pseudo distraction or boycott.

"As soon as there are talks about a country which is not part of this 'Western circle' hosting the Olympic Games," Zakharova told a radio station, according to the report, "situations surrounding everything become tense immediately — human rights, national interests, regional conflicts and many more."

Russia's military build-up on the Ukraine border – done under the pretense of stopping Ukraine's entrance in NATO – is now 70% of what is needed for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Reports have between 100,000-130,000 Russian forces amassed on the Ukrainian border.

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