A newly announced evacuation of civilians from Russian-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine is “exactly” the “type of false flag operation” that U.S. officials suspect could presage a major Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s team.
“Announcements like these are further attempts to obscure through lies and disinformation that Russia is the aggressor in this conflict,” a State Department spokesperson told reporters on Friday. “It is also cynical and cruel to use human beings as pawns to distract the world from the fact that Russia is building up its forces in preparation for an attack.”
Russian proxies in the Donbas region announced the evacuation of civilians from the territory they have controlled since 2014, when Russian military forces annexed Crimea and carved new districts out of eastern Ukraine. U.S. officials believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably has massed between 169,000-190,000 personnel in and near Ukraine” and that Russian officials are “intent on creating a pretext to justify an invasion” — while Ukrainian officials declare the need to avoid taking any bait.
“Our mission is not to do any of the things the Russians are trying to provoke us into doing,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in a Friday appearance before parliament. “We have to push back but keep a cool head.”
UN OFFICIALS TELL KREMLIN NOT TO WORSEN ‘EXTREMELY DANGEROUS’ SITUATION
One of the senior Russian proxy officials paired the evacuation notice with a claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky intends “to give an order to the army shortly to switch to an offensive and implement the plan of invading the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.”
Such a decision by Zelensky would be the kind of attack that Russian officials have said would justify an invasion of Ukraine. “We will not invade Ukraine unless we are provoked to do that,” Russian Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov, who is Putin’s envoy to the European Union, said Tuesday. “If the Ukrainians launch an attack against Russia, you shouldn’t be surprised if we counterattack — or if they start blatantly killing Russian citizens anywhere, Donbas or wherever.”
Ukraine has “no intention” of trying to recapture the Russian-held territories in eastern Ukraine, Reznikov added in his parliamentary appearance.
“We categorically refute Russian disinformation reports on Ukraine’s alleged offensive operations or acts of sabotage in chemical production facilities,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba added in a statement on Twitter. “Ukraine does not conduct or plan any such actions in the Donbas. We are fully committed to diplomatic conflict resolution only.”
Russia refused to attend a Ukraine-focused meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Friday, after likewise skipping a Tuesday session that Kuleba called pursuant to Ukraine’s right, under an international agreement known as the Vienna Document, to demand an explanation for Russia’s mobilization.
“Rather than provide transparency and engage in risk reduction, Russia has chosen to provide disinformation and engage in denial and deception,” Ambassador Michael Carpenter, who represents the United States at the OSCE, said Friday. “It cynically tries to portray Ukraine, NATO, and the United States as aggressors at the same time as it positions a massive strike force, threatening to invade its neighbor.”
Kremlin officials maintain that no one can question their decision to move troops to the border with Ukraine because the troops remain on the Russian side of the border. Russian President Vladimir Putin maintained Friday that the military drills in Belarus — which has allowed Russian forces to take up positions within just a couple hours of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital — are “purely defensive nature and pose no threat to anyone.”
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Blinken invited Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to meet next week in Europe, but U.S. officials aren’t sure the meeting will take place. “The Russians have responded with proposed dates for late next week, which we are accepting, provided there is no further Russian invasion of Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters late Thursday. “If they do invade in the coming days, it will make clear they were never serious about diplomacy.”
