Russia invasion would seek to brutally 'crush' Ukrainians: White House

US intelligence suggests any Russian invasion of Ukraine would employ a particularly brutal strategy to "crush" the civilian population, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday.

A Russian invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbor, which Washington and the West warns could come any day, would be an "extremely violent" operation, "but we also have intelligence to suggest that there will be an even greater form of brutality" by Russian forces, Sullivan told NBC News.

"It will be a war waged by Russia on the Ukrainian people to repress them, to crush them, to harm them," the White House official said.