Russia invasion warning: ‘Reason’ Biden thinks Putin may strike before sunrise tomorrow

The US President has reportedly informed his allies the Russian invasion of its neighbours could be launched tonight. Rob Lee, a security expert, suggested Russia might strike on this specific date (February 16) as the skies will be illuminated by the Moon. He said: “Another relevant factor for the timing of a potential Russian military escalation: night illumination, which is important for operations at night.

“Illumination peaks on February 16 and falls to 52 percent by February 23.

“If the political decision has been made to use force, night illumination is one of the factors that would determine the exact timing, which might be one reason why the US government thinks February 16 is the likely date for an escalation.”

This comes as a phenomenon known as the Snow Moon is set to grace the skies tonight.

The bright full moon will be put on display tonight and should remain full the night after.

The Snow Moon is the second full moon of the year and should be at its brightest (100 percent illumination) at 16:56 GMT (11:56 EST).

Its name derives from cold temperatures associated with February, the month it appears.

Russia may now be hoping to use the Snow Moon to its advantage.

While Russia does appear to be withdrawing some of its troops away from the border with Ukraine, the West does not seem so convinced that is backing down from an invasion.

In its statement, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed it was pulling back some of its soldiers that were conducting military exercises at military districts bordering Ukraine.

Defence Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said: “A number of combat training exercises, including drills, have been conducted as planned.”

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Despite Russia supposedly not showing signs of backing down, the West is still scrambling to prevent an invasion and has warned it will slap down “massive” sanctions on Moscow.

Economic sanctions have been tipped to target businesses and individuals across a number of sectors, including chemical, defence, extractives, ICT and financial services industries.

But Europe has been warned the Kremlin can strike back by cutting off its gas supplies.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Moscow is prepared to re-route supplies to other markets after fearing its energy companies would be targeted by Western sanctions.

He told reporters: “Any export curbs would result in rising prices. And if such restrictions are to be applied then increases in prices should largely offset such curbs.”