The United States claimed on Wednesday that Russian forces concentrated along Ukraine’s borders had increased by approximately 7,000 troops in recent days. The information stands in direct contrast to Moscow’s claims that it was pulling back its troops.
A senior US government official said the increase makes Russia’s withdrawal claim “false”, and warned that President Vladimir Putin’s public openness to diplomacy was just a cover.
“All the indications we have now is that they intend to only publicly offer to talk and make claims about the de-escalation, while privately mobilizing for war,” the official said.
The new figures would mean that the totality of Russian forces on the border now exceeds 150,000. Western leaders had already greeted Russia’s withdrawal claims with skepticism. On Tuesday, Biden said during a speech in the East Room that a Russian troop withdrawal would be “good” but that he had yet to see any evidence that such a retreat was underway.
“Our analysts indicate that they remain in a threatening position,” Biden said. “Russia now has over 150,000 troops encircling Ukraine and Belarus, and along the Ukrainian border.”
The senior official again warned that Russia could use a false pretext for an attack, including allegations about NATO activity in Eastern Europe or an incursion into Russian territory.
“We should expect more false reports from Russian state media in the coming days,” the official said. “We don’t know what the false pretext will be, but we hope the world is ready.”
US officials said the window was open to a possible invasion, but the enigmatic Russian leader still had to make the final decision.
Biden took advantage of Moscow’s signals that Russia was willing to resume talks, saying there was “a lot of room for diplomacy”. But the US official largely disregarded these prospects.
“We will continue to pursue diplomacy in the coming days while we are prepared to respond quickly and decisively,” the official said. “Russia continues to say that it wants to seek a diplomatic solution; their actions indicate otherwise. We hope they change course before starting a war that will bring catastrophic death and destruction.”
On Tuesday, Putin claimed that Russia was sending some troops back to base after completing exercises in Crimea, Ukrainian territory annexed in 2014. However, US and European leaders doubted the claim.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance has yet to see “any signs of de-escalation on the ground”, but added that “signs from Moscow that diplomacy must continue” are grounds for cautious optimism.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a news conference in Kiev that he was following a rule when it comes to Russian allegations: “Don’t hear and then believe, but see and then believe.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview on Wednesday that there is “a difference between what Russia says and what it does”.
“What we’re seeing is not a significant setback,” Blinken told ABC News.
Source: CNN Brasil
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