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Russia’s top diplomat has angrily denied US allegations that Moscow is preparing a pretext to attack Ukraine, as Russian forces gathered near the border with Ukraine on Monday launched new military exercises.
The White House said Friday that U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Russia has already deployed its rebel-held operations in eastern Ukraine to carry out acts of sabotage and blame Ukraine, creating a pretext for them. conquered.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the United States’ claims as “complete misinformation.”
He confirmed that Russia was awaiting a written response this week from the United States and its allies to Moscow’s demands for assurances that NATO would not join Ukraine, or other former Soviet countries, nor deploy forces and armaments to it. place.
Washington and its allies vehemently rejected Moscow’s demands during the US-Russia talks last week in Geneva and during a NATO-Russia meeting in Brussels. The meetings took place as about 100,000 Russian troops with tanks and other heavy weapons gathered near Ukraine. The West thinks this is the prelude to an invasion.
A Russian T-72B3 tank taking part in training in the Rostov region (January 12, 2022)
As the military build-up continued, Russia has conducted several military simulations in recent weeks in regions near the border with Ukraine. On Monday, the Russian military announced the start of another armored vehicle exercise in the western part of Russia, which will include 300 combat vehicles.
A delegation of US senators is visiting Ukraine to emphasize US support for the country.
“Our bipartisan delegation with members of Congress sends a clear message to the global community: The United States stands firm in support of our Ukrainian partners in defending their sovereignty in the face of continued Russian aggression,” said Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in a statement.
Speaking during a visit to Kiev on Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned that “any further escalation would carry a heavy price for the Russian regime – economic, political and strategic.” She stressed the need to continue negotiations.
German Foreign Minister Baerbock meets with Ukrainian counterpart in Kiev (January 17, 2022)
“We are prepared for a serious dialogue with Russia, as diplomacy is the only way to de-escalate this dangerous situation,” she said.
Ms Baerbock said Germany had offered to send cyber security specialists to Ukraine to help investigate last week ‘s cyber attacks, for which Ukrainian authorities have blamed Russia. At the same time, she noted that Germany has not changed its decision not to send weapons.
“We have made it clear that we will do everything to avoid the escalation of the crisis,” she said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a visit to Spain that “we expect clear steps from Russia to reduce tensions”, adding that “military aggression against Ukraine will have serious political and economic consequences.”
Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia could launch an attack from various directions, including from the territory of its ally, Belarus.
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has increasingly relied on the Kremlin for help as the West imposed sanctions on the country for its brutal crackdown on protesters, said Russia and Belarus would hold massive military exercises next month.
Belarusian President Lukashenko during a meeting with the country’s military leaders (January 17, 2022)
Mr Lukashenko said the maneuvers would take place on Belarus’ western border and also in the south of the country, where the border with Ukraine is located. Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Alexander Volfovich said on Monday that Russian troops had already begun arriving in the country for the exercise, the BELTA news agency reported.
Russia has denied having plans to attack the neighboring country and has accused the Ukrainian leadership of plotting to use force to regain control of rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have denied this.
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 after ousting Ukraine’s pro-Russian leader and also backed a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine. More than 14,000 people have been killed in nearly eight years of fighting there.
Russian President Putin during a meeting in the Kremlin (January 17, 2022)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow will take unspecified “military-technical measures” if the West opposes its demands.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who led the Russian delegation to talks with the United States in Geneva, said last week that he “would neither confirm nor rule out” the possibility of Russia sending troops to Cuba and Venezuela if the United States the United States and its allies do not limit their military activities to the threshold of Russian territory. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan dismissed the comments as mere noise.
Asked on Monday about the possibility of deploying Russian missiles in Cuba and Venezuela, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “Russia is thinking about how to guarantee its security in the context of the current situation.” / VOA
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