Various Ukrainian officials have downplayed the increased possibility of a Russian incursion in recent days as U.S. officials have heightened their warnings.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation is “under control” on Monday while the country’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said the same day, “We don’t see any grounds for statements about a full-scale offensive on our country.”
Similarly, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told Ukraine’s ICTV there “are risk scenarios” that are “possible and probable in the future,” though “as of today … such a threat doesn’t exist.”
US SENDING WEAPONS TO UKRAINE AND PULLING AMERICANS OUT
The insights from Ukrainian officials come as the Biden administration has been saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin could launch a “false flag operation” to garner the supposed pretext for an invasion that could occur “at any point.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby revealed Monday that 8,500 troops were put on “heightened alert” for a possible deployment. The alert order was sent to units currently in the United States that would be mobilized as a part of NATO forces if the alliance chose to activate a military response. Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, said in an interview that the group would not be deploying combat troops.
President Joe Biden also said a day later that he had “no intention of putting American forces or NATO forces in Ukraine,” though he said there “are going to be serious economic consequences if he moves.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken ordered “eligible family members” of U.S. diplomats in Kyiv to leave the country last weekend and granted permission for “non-emergency U.S. government employees” to depart if they so choose.
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“The security conditions, particularly along Ukraine’s borders, in Russia-occupied Crimea, and in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine, are unpredictable and can deteriorate with little notice,” the State Department said in a statement. “Demonstrations, which have turned violent at times, regularly occur throughout Ukraine, including in Kyiv.”
Earlier this week, NATO agreed to deploy additional ships and fighter jets to operate as a “deterrence and defense as Russia continues its military build-up in and around Ukraine,” according to a statement.
