Ukraine crisis: US terms Russian claim of troop withdrawal ‘false’, claim Russia could attack anytime

By Team Newsable | First Published Feb 17, 2022, 9:13 AM IST

Meanwhile, “Russia must take real steps toward de-escalation,” US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed in a phone call on Wednesday, according to the German chancellery.

According to a senior US official, Russia’s claim that it is moving troops away from the border with Ukraine is ‘false’, who added that 7,000 extra troops have arrived in recent days. While the US warned that Russia had added as many as 7,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders despite Kremlin declarations that forces were being pulled back from the region.

“We now know it was false,” the official said, adding that as many as 7,000 troops have joined the 150,000 already near the border in recent days.

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The official gave one of the grimmest assessments yet for the possibility of reaching a diplomatic solution to avoid war. “Russia keeps saying it wants to pursue a diplomatic solution, their actions indicate otherwise,” the official said. “We hope they will change course before starting a war that will bring catastrophic death and destruction.”

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Meanwhile, “Russia must take real steps toward de-escalation,” US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed in a phone call on Wednesday, according to the German chancellery.

Russia - which has repeatedly denied planning to invade Ukraine, despite having amassed well over 100,000 troops near the border - calls Western concern over an invasion ‘hysteria’.

Also, the United States has picked up intelligence that Russia is discussing next Wednesday as the target date for the start of military action, officials said, acknowledging the possibility that mentioning a particular date could be part of a Russian disinformation effort.

Also watch: Russia-Ukraine Crisis: NATO says 'we are prepared for the worst'

“We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border,” Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, told reporters on Friday, adding that an invasion could begin “during the Olympics,” which are scheduled to end on February 20.

Russia has amassed more than 150,000 troops east, north and south of Ukraine, according to Western estimates. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signalled that he wants a peaceful path out of the crisis, and U.S. President Joe Biden promised that the US would continue to give diplomacy “every chance,” but he struck a sceptical tone about Moscow’s intentions. Biden also insisted that Washington and its allies would not “sacrifice basic principles” respecting Ukraine sovereignty.

Moscow has said it was pulling back some of the 150,000 troops that the United States and its allies warn have converged around Ukraine on three sides. But with the world searching for signs that a deadly new conflict on European soil might be averted, days of high stakes signalling from Russia have been met with scepticism by the West.

Also read: Ukraine crisis: Russia announce Crimea military drills have ended, troops leaving

Also read: Ukraine-Russia crisis: We are prepared, says US President Joe Biden

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