The United States on Friday accused Russia of having “prepositioned” agents in Ukraine to carry out an operation that could serve as a “pretext for an invasion” by forces from Moscow.
“Russia is laying the groundwork for the possibility of fabricating a pretext for an invasion, including through acts of sabotage and information operations, by accusing Ukraine of planning an imminent attack against Russian forces. in eastern Ukraine,” a senior US official said, detailing the intelligence Washington has.
The US government has been warning for several weeks against the possibility that Moscow, which it accuses of having deployed nearly 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border for a potential offensive, would previously create a “pretext” to move on. ‘act.
President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said so again Thursday to the press, promising details of the findings of US intelligence — while adding that he believed the Kremlin had not yet made a final decision on a possible attack.
“We saw this strategy at work in 2014”, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, “they are preparing this strategy again”, warned Jake Sullivan.
According to the senior official who provided details on Friday, Washington “has information indicating that Russia has already prepositioned a group of agents to carry out false flag operations in eastern Ukraine”. “These agents are trained in urban guerrilla warfare and the use of explosives to carry out acts of sabotage against Russian-allied forces,” posing as Ukrainians, he added.
To see in video