A Russian invasion of Ukraine is not inevitable but if it does take place, it would lead to a significant number of deaths, top U.S. military officials said Friday. “Conflict is not inevitable,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at the Pentagon in Washington. “There is still time and place for diplomacy.” Russia has amassed upwards of 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union until it gained its independence in 1991. It’s also maneuvered artillery, ballistic missiles, and other weapons into the region. Ukraine has about 150,000 active-duty troops, with others in the reserves. Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Russia should work with the United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members to reach an agreement instead of going to war. But if an invasion does happen, the terrain and conditions in …