The Pentagon accused the Kremlin of a scheme to fabricate an attack by Ukrainian forces.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. accused the Kremlin on Thursday of an elaborate plot to fabricate an attack by Ukrainian forces that Russia could use as a pretext to take military action against its neighbor.
“We’ve seen these kinds of activity by the Russians in the past, and we believe it’s important when we see it like this and and we can, to call it out,” Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon.The administration has repeatedly declined to detail evidence underlying its intelligence findings. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday the administration needed to protect sensitive sources and intelligence gathering methods.
At the same time, Turkey would be reluctant to joint in any sanctions against Russia. With a struggling economy, the country has pinned its hopes on tourism revenue, especially from visitors from Russia. It also relies on Russia for much of its natural gas. Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke again Thursday, their third call in less than a week. The Kremlin said in a statement that they continued a “detailed dialogue about the situation around Ukraine” and added that Putin drew Macron’s attention to “provocative statements and actions” by the Ukrainian leadership.
At the same time, Ukraine’s defense minister sought again to project calm, saying the probability of an invasion was “low,” and he welcomed a change by U.S. officials, who have stopped using the term “imminent” when describing the risk of a Russian attack. NATO has no intention of deploying troops to Ukraine should Russia invade, but it has begun to reinforce the defenses of nearby member countries — notably Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The 30-nation military alliance also plans to beef up its defenses in the Black Sea region near Bulgaria and Romania.
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