Russia dismisses US reports about Ukraine offensive
MOSCOW: Russia has dismissed new US media reports about a possible Russian attack on Ukraine, accusing Washington of trying to aggravate the situation while blaming Moscow, the Kommersant newspaper said on Saturday, citing the foreign ministry.
The Washington Post in the US cited officials and an intelligence document on Saturday as saying US intelligence thought Russia could be planning a multifront offensive on Ukraine as early as next year involving up to 175,000 troops.
“The (United) States is conducting a special operation to aggravate the situation around Ukraine while shifting the responsibility onto Russia,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by Kommersant.
“It is based on provocative actions near Russia’s borders accompanied by accusatory rhetoric,” she said.
The new US intelligence finding estimates that the Russians are planning to deploy an estimated 175,000 troops and almost half of them are already deployed along various points near Ukraine’s border, according to a Biden administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the finding.
It comes as Russia has picked up its demands on Biden to guarantee that Ukraine will not be allowed to join the Nato alliance. The official added that the plans call for the movement of 100 Russian battalion tactical groups along with armour, artillery and equipment.
Intelligence officials also have seen an uptick in Russian propaganda efforts through the use of proxies and media outlets to denigrate Ukraine and Nato ahead of a potential invasion, the official said.
Asked about the intelligence finding as he set out for the presidential retreat at Camp David on Friday evening, Biden reiterated his concerns about Russian provocations.
“We’ve been aware of Russia’s actions for a long time and my expectation is we’re gonna have a long discussion with Putin,” Biden said.
The risks of such a gambit for Putin, if he actually went through with an invasion, would be enormous.
Earlier Friday, Biden pledged to make it “very, very difficult” for Putin to take military action in Ukraine and said new initiatives coming from his administration are intended to deter Russian aggression.