Russia is preparing an excuse to invade Ukraine: US official | Conflict News

Russia is preparing He has called on the authorities to create an excuse for a wider invasion of Ukraine and to carry out an “false flag operation”, according to Washington officials, echoing Kiev’s statements.

Russian special services are preparing “provocations” against Russian soldiers stationed there Moldovan Transnistrian refugee region To denounce Kyiv, Ukrainian military intelligence said on Friday.

U.S. officials they have expressed similar feelings. “Russian influencers have already begun fabricating Ukrainian provocations on states and social networks to justify Russian intervention and sow divisions in Ukraine,” a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday.

Moscow has already deployed agents trained in the civil war to carry out acts of sabotage against Russian forces that could use explosives in eastern Ukraine, blaming Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin he has decided to move forward with an invasion, a U.S. official has told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Moscow has called such statements “baseless,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

Russia wants written security guarantees

Russia has deployed about 100,000 troops to the Ukrainian border diplomatic interviews they have not borne fruit in trying to fix the stoppage.

Russia is urging the US and NATO to provide written guarantees that the alliance will not be extended to the east. Washington has called for such a move not to be launched, but said it was ready to negotiate. About the possible future expansion of Moscow Putting restrictions on offensive missiles in Ukraine and US and NATO military exercises in Eastern Europe.

A senior official in Kiev warned on Friday that the current stalemate raises questions about Ukraine’s “life and death.” Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s officeHe added that most Ukrainians would defend the country.

Zelenskyy has proposed a meeting with US President Joe Biden Vladimir Putin of Russia to discuss growing security concerns, Yerma said Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow was not ready to wait forever for the US and NATO to respond. security requirements and that he wanted a detailed written response to each Russian proposal.

Lavrov said President Putin could make a decision after receiving a point-by-point response to Moscow’s Western proposals and counter-proposals.

Information war

As negotiations sputterUkrainian government websites launched a major cyber attack on Friday.

The country cabinet websites, seven ministries, the treasury, the National Emergency Service and the state services website, where Ukrainian e-passports and vaccine certificates are stored, were temporarily unavailable.

The website contained a message in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish stating that Ukrainian personal data had been leaked to the public domain. The Ukrainian government refused, saying no personal data had been leaked.

“Be scared and expect the worst. This is your past, present and future, ”the message said, in part.

Kyiv State Security Service said on Friday night that it had shown cyberattack Signs of Russian involvement.

Jen Psaki, a White House spokeswoman, said Moscow’s current activities were similar to those of the Kremlin. Russia annexes Crimea in 2014The Black Sea Peninsula has been under Ukrainian jurisdiction since 1954.

In what he called “sabotage activities” and “intelligence operations,” Psaki said on Friday that the full military invasion of Ukraine could begin between mid-January and mid-February.

The Crimea in 2014 It came at a time when Ukraine was seeking to strengthen ties with Europe and the West. At the time, Russia was intensifying its propaganda that ethnic Russians in Ukraine were oppressing eastern Ukraine.

(Al Jazeera)

Moscow is a long time ago accused of misinformation along with military operations and cyberattacks as tactics against enemies. In 2014, Russian state media tried to dismiss Western protests in Kiev as “US-sponsored cooperation with Ukrainian fascist nationalists” and promoted stories about Crimea’s historical ties to Moscow, according to a report by Stanford University’s Internet Observatory.

These activities are on the rise now, Psaki said. “Russian officials and influential actors are emphasizing the stories of human rights abuses in Ukraine and increased militancy of Ukrainian leaders,” he said. Russian social media narratives The West is also accused of escalating tensions and highlighting humanitarian problems in Ukraine, he added.

The U.S. followed nearly 3,500 social media posts every day in December highlighting those stories, Psaki said, a 200 percent increase from the November daily average.

As tensions rose and the threat of war arose, Moscow warned Washington that it would not rule it out. sending his military goods to Latin America If the US does not stop military activities on the Russian front.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jake Sullivan dismissed statements about the possible expansion of Russia into Cuba and Venezuela as “a mockery of public comment.”