Ukraine considers the chances of a diplomatic solution greater than those of an escalation

The Ukrainian presidency ruled on Sunday that the chances of finding a "

" to the crisis with Russia were "

" than that of a

military "

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"

," Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of Ukraine's presidential administration, said after warnings from US intelligence that Moscow has stepped up his preparations for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"

", but to "

", Russia is carrying out "

", maneuvers and movements arms, continued the official in written comments given to AFP by the press service of the presidency.

However, Ukraine and its Western allies must “

,” Mr. Podoliak further argued.

American intelligence estimates that Russia already has 70% of the resources needed for a large-scale invasion of Ukraine and could have sufficient capacity, ie 150,000 men, to launch an offensive in two weeks.

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According to American officials, American intelligence had not yet established whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had made the decision to go on the offensive or not, but that he wanted to give himself all possible options, from the partial invasion from the separatist enclave of Donbass to total invasion.

If Mr. Putin chose the more radical option, he could surround Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, and overthrow President Volodymyr Zelensky in 48 hours, according to these officials.

They warned that the conflict would have a considerable human cost with the risk of causing the death of 25,000 to 50,000 civilians, 5,000 to 25,000 Ukrainian soldiers and 3,000 to 10,000 Russian soldiers.

It could also cause an influx of 1 to 5 million refugees, mainly to Poland.