Israeli media said that Washington informed Tel Aviv of the date of a possible Russian attack on Ukrainian territory, amid the prevailing atmosphere of war in Ukraine, which called on its people to avoid panic and affirmed its military readiness to repel any attack.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed that the possibility of Russia taking military action against its western neighbor is imminent and high enough to withdraw many of the US embassy employees in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, which was announced by his ministry earlier.
Blinken said - in a press conference held in Hawaii, where he met his Japanese and South Korean counterparts - that the diplomatic path with Russia on the Ukraine issue is still open, and he clarified that what is required is that Moscow work to calm the situation.
Blinken's comments came hours after US President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during a phone call between them on Saturday, that Washington and its allies would immediately incur a heavy cost to Russia if it invaded Ukraine, and that the invasion would result in widespread human suffering and reduce Moscow's standing.
And the White House said in a statement that Biden discussed with Putin - during the hour-long call - the latest developments in Ukraine, in a move to defuse tension over the Ukrainian file.
For its part, the Kremlin said that Putin agreed with Biden to continue the dialogue, and added that the dialogue between the two presidents was balanced and pragmatic, noting that the Russian President denounced during the call with Biden what he described as false information about the alleged Russian invasion of Ukraine.
US estimates
With Western warnings about the imminence of a possible attack, Israeli media said that Washington had informed Tel Aviv that the Russian invasion of Ukraine might start on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Haaretz newspaper said that the Israeli authorities had accelerated their efforts to evacuate their citizens from Ukraine, noting that the US administration had told it that the Russian invasion might start on Tuesday at the earliest.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Israel has until Wednesday to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine, according to notifications Tel Aviv received from Washington.
On Friday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that it was estimated that Russian forces could invade Ukraine before the Winter Olympics end in Beijing on February 20.
Washington and its allies assert that Russia has deployed about 130,000 troops around Ukraine and in Belarus, in preparation for attacking its western neighbor, which Moscow has repeatedly denied.
Ukraine's preparations
As for Ukraine, it has confirmed that it is ready to confront any possible attack, and the Russian forces have vowed hell.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyal said that his country's army is ready to repel the enemy at any moment, unlike what happened in 2014, referring to Russia's occupation of the Ukrainian Crimea.
Shmyhal added - late on Saturday evening - that the Ukrainian people should trust their state and army and avoid panic and fear, stressing that Ukraine is united with its partners in the face of the Russian escalation.
Simultaneously, Ukrainian Chief of Staff Valery Zaloghny said in a joint statement with Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, addressing the Russian forces: "Welcome to hell," as he put it.
The joint statement published by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated that 420,000 Ukrainian soldiers - including military leaders - are ready to die, and that the defense of the capital, Kiev, has been strengthened, and the statement confirmed that the Ukrainian armed forces are different from what they were in 2014, and are fully prepared to repel No aggression, ready for all scenarios.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine revealed that Kiev has so far received two thousand tons of modern weapons, ammunition and body armor from various countries.
In the meantime, many countries have taken steps to reduce their diplomatic missions in Ukraine, and warned citizens against traveling or staying there in light of the mounting fears.
Yesterday, Saturday, nine Arab countries urged their nationals to avoid traveling to Ukraine at the present time, and some of them called on the nationals present there to leave for their own safety.
These warnings came in statements by the foreign ministries of Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon, and the embassies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Morocco in Kiev.