All indications are that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine, and it's hard to understand the disconnect between the White House's warnings and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statements, Rep. Don Bacon said on Newsmax Saturday.
"Maybe he's just trying to instill more confidence in his citizens, but it looks to me that with all of the intelligence that we have and the actions by Putin, it sure appears to me that [he] has decided," the Nebraska Republican said on Newsmax's "America Right Now."
Russia has already moved field hospitals to the Ukraine border and is collecting blood donations, Bacon pointed out, so "therefore, troops will get injured. All the preparations you would expect to see for an invasion are being done."
He added that he's concerned that the United States is entering a new, 'more dangerous" chapter on foreign affairs and national security.
"It's a chapter where bullies and thugs are trying to dominate," he said. "It's not just Russia. China's watching this and Iran's watching it. We're going down a bad path in our world right now. And I think the intelligence is pretty clear that Russia is preparing to invade."
It is hard to know whether the invasion would be full-scale or targeted to force Zelenskyy into a peace deal, but Putin's actions are pointing to a large-scale attack, said Bacon.
"Putin wants Ukraine to be part of his country," he said. "They don't see the Ukrainian people being independent. They're like junior brothers, Slavic brothers, in Putin's mind. He wants to go back to the Peter the Great era…I think most intelligence sources out there would say he's planning a large invasion."
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke in Munich on Saturday, where she said the United States is prepared to move forward with "swift, severe" sanctions should an invasion be launched, but Bacon said the administration "should have spent 90% of its time trying to deter" an attack.
Bacon also said he doesn't think Russia is taking the United States seriously on the threat of economic repercussions.
"I think they think they can outlast these economic sanctions," said Bacon. "I don't think they take us too seriously based on the performance of Biden and his team this past year."
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