US intelligence says Russia is planning an invasion of Ukraine early next year with up to 175,000 troops

Daily Mail ^ | 3 Dec, 2021 | HARRIET ALEXANDER

[MtnClimber]

Russia is planning a possible military offensive against Ukraine involving an estimated 175,000 troops that could begin as soon as early 2022, according to a report on Friday.

An unclassified intelligence document, obtained by The Washington Post, showed satellite images of troop and equipment build up around the border with Ukraine.

Photos taken in June around Yelnya, near the northern border between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, showed empty land. By November 9, five Battalion Tactical Groups (BTGs) were in place, the photos showed.

In 2014, similar scenes were replicated along the Russian-Ukrainian border near Crimea before Russia seized the strategic port on the Black Sea.

'The Russian plans call for a military offensive against Ukraine as soon as early 2022 with a scale of forces twice what we saw this past spring during Russia's snap exercise near Ukraine's borders,' an administration official told the paper.

[McGruff]

Never heard of someone scheduling an invasion in advance. Makes it easier to add an entry to your calendar for a reminder just before it happens.

[piasa]

And yet, they were correct.
Early in 2022, the Russians did just as predicted in the leak to the Washington Post, and invaded :

Putin Kremlin Spokesman: Russia’s Invasion is Going According to Plan
3/15/2022, 12:22:10 AM · by SeekAndFind · 22 replies
Reuters via Epoch Times ^ | 03/14/2022 | Jack Phillips