DrThe United States once again accused Russia of using a false flag attack to create a pretext to invade Ukraine. „We have information that the Russians may be trying to create a pretext for an invasion,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.
The Russian government is planning an „option” for an orchestrated attack by the Ukrainian armed forces or intelligence services on „sovereign Russian territory or Russian-speaking people”. This should then be used as a justification for a Russian response.
„We think Russia will produce a very rigorous propaganda video, with bodies and actors filming mourners,” Kirby said. Destroyed sites and military equipment that may have been delivered to Ukraine from the West should also be shown. „We’ve seen such activities by the Russians in the past,” Pentagon spokesman Kirby said.
The US government had already accused Russia in mid-January of wanting to create a pretext to invade Ukraine. „We have information indicating that Russia has already deployed a group of agents to conduct a false flag operation in eastern Ukraine,” a US official said at the time. „Agents are trained in urban warfare and the use of explosives to commit acts of sabotage against Russian proxy forces.”
In eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian separatists are fighting the government in Kiev. Many Russian-speaking people live in the country.
Hot exchange of blows with the reporter
The new allegations sparked a heated exchange between an Associated Press reporter and Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, on Thursday. When the journalist asked at a press conference if Price could provide publicly available evidence to support the allegations against Moscow, the spokesman simply said he had „just presented it.”
When the reporter asked more questions, Price referred to protecting sources. „If you doubt the credibility of the US government, the UK government, or any other government, enjoy the information the Russians are publishing, that’s your business.”
When asked if the US government has the video, Price replied, „Of course I won’t make it clear what we have, I’ll leave that to your discretion and imagination.”
Price later tweeted that Associated Press reporter Matt Lee was „obviously not stupid and I wouldn’t say otherwise.” Call him after the press conference.
Macron on the phone with Putin and Zelensky
According to Western sources, Russia has amassed more than 100,000 soldiers and heavy equipment on the Ukrainian border. Therefore, the West fears a Russian attack on the neighboring country. Russia rejects these allegations and at the same time says that it feels threatened by NATO. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed regret over the „unwillingness of the military alliance to adequately address Russia’s” security concerns. Intensive diplomatic efforts to defuse the conflict have continued for weeks.
According to the Kremlin, in a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin reiterated his demand for „long-term” security guarantees. In addition, he once again referred to the „provocative statements and actions of the Kiev leadership.” Macron also called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again. The Ukrainian president wrote on Twitter that it was about „accelerating the peace process in the form of Normandy.”
Zelensky received his Turkish colleague Erdogan in Kiev on Thursday, who suggested holding a Ukraine-Russia summit in Turkey to solve the crisis. Erdogan has already offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia in the past. But so far, Moscow has treated the progress with caution. Putin and Erdogan have good relations. But in the conflict in Ukraine, Ankara has angered Moscow by delivering combat drones to Kiev, among other things.
Chancellor Schultz announced that he would soon meet with Putin. He said on ZDF channel Wednesday evening that he „will soon continue to talk in Moscow about the necessary questions there.” On Monday, Schultz is scheduled to travel for the first time to US President Joe Biden in Washington. As reported by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Friday edition), Schulz then wants to coordinate work on the Ukraine crisis with Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda at a summit meeting in Berlin on Tuesday.
The West threatened Russia with severe sanctions if it invaded Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated during a visit to Finland on Thursday that „any further military aggression against Ukraine would mean financial and economic sanctions” against Russia. She said Russia was skeptical of the „European security architecture”. „This is of course an attack on all of us, all 27 member states.”
„7 Days, 7 Nights” is the weekly political newspaper published by Friedrich Schuelden. Every Friday he welcomes a political guest for a slightly different weekly review. Subscribe to, among others Apple PodcastAnd spotifyAnd Deezer google podcast or by rss feed.