Psaki called the alleged US timing of Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine In the White House called the new timing of Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine: from mid-January to mid-February. They said Moscow was preparing an attack “under a false flag”
Jen Psaki
Russia is laying the groundwork to fabricate a pretext for the “invasion” of Ukraine, which is to take place in the period from mid-January to mid-February, White House press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing.
“We are concerned that the Russian government is preparing an invasion. We have seen this before, as it was in 2014, including sabotage and information operations to accuse Ukraine of preparing imminent attacks on Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. The Russian military plans to begin such activity a few weeks before the military invasion, which may begin between mid-January and mid-February,” Psaki said.
According to her, the White House has information that Russia has prepared in advance a special group trained in the conduct of combat in the city and the skills of explosives for sabotage against its own puppet forces. Psaki also stated that “Russian agents of influence” began fabricating provocations in the state media and the Internet in order to “justify Russian interference and sow division in Ukraine”.
“For example, Russian officials and agents of influence focus on stories about the deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine and the strengthening of the militant sentiments of Ukrainian leaders,” Psaki noted.
In social networks, Psaki continued, messages propagandizing Russian patriotism and Russia’s ability to solve humanitarian and social issues in Ukraine are being distributed. In December, the number of such messages reached an average of 2,500 per day, which is twice as high as in November.
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She confirmed that Russia is preparing an operation in Ukraine “under a false flag” to form a pretext for an invasion.
Earlier, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov called the publications in the Western media about the alleged “Russian provocation” in Ukraine unfounded. “So far, all these statements have been unfounded and have not been confirmed by anything,” he stressed.
Earlier, the US President’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, reported on the relevant intelligence available to Washington. “Russia is laying the groundwork in order to be able to fabricate a pretext for an invasion,” Sullivan said. CNN, citing an unnamed American official, reported that the United States has data on Moscow’s preparation of an operational group to conduct an operation in eastern Ukraine under a false flag.
The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (GUR MO) of Ukraine stated that the Russian special services are preparing provocations against their own servicemen in order to blame Ukraine for this. The place of action is Transnistria.
The flow of publications in the Western, primarily American, press began at the end of October. The media, followed by officials, claimed that Russia had assembled a group on the borders with Ukraine for the “invasion”. There have been contradictory statements from the Ukrainian side, high-ranking Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated that they do not see a threat.
On December 15, 2021, Secretary of the Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov stated that so far there are no signs that an invasion is imminent. On December 30, he again stated that there was no threat. “If we talk about a significant build-up of [Russian troops], which some foreign media insist on, then I will say once again that wewe don’t see it. To date, we do not see any threats to open aggression from Russia,” the NSDC Secretary stressed.
The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that it is not going to undertake any invasion of Ukraine, and called the information about this an element of information warfare.
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