President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared Feb. 16, cited as a possible invasion day, Unity Day.
“They tell us February 16 will be the day of the attack. We will make it a day of unity,” he said in a video address to the nation.
Zelensky, who has tended to play down suggestions that an attack by Russia is imminent, did not say who had suggested the date.
However, several US news outlets reported last week that Washington believed that was the date when Russian forces would be ready if Vladimir Putin gives the order to invade.
“They’re trying to frighten us by yet again, naming a date for the start of military action,” he underlined.
An order had been signed to hang out national flags on that day, Zelensky confirmed.
In the address he also said that everything was under control and called on oligarchs who had left the country to return.
Russia suggested on Monday that it was ready to keep talking to the West to try to defuse the security crisis, while the US said Moscow was adding to its military capabilities by the day for a potential attack on Ukraine.
It denies Western accusations that it is planning an invasion, but says it could take unspecified “military-technical” action unless a range of demands are met, including barring Ukraine from ever joining NATO.
Russia continues to have more than 100,000 troops amassed near the border of Ukraine.
