A correspondent for the American television channel CBS reported that US intelligence has information about an "order" for the Russian military to "invade Ukraine." According to him, the plan of attack is still being developed. A source in the Russian Defense Ministry called this information nonsense, and the Foreign Ministry joked that the plan had previously been published by the German media. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov stressed that Russia does not threaten either the United States or Ukraine and is not going to attack anyone. Live on the American television channel CBS correspondent David Martin, without citing evidence, said that "Russian troops have received orders to invade Ukraine." Allegedly, intelligence has such data. According to Martin, a combat plan is under development.
Thus, he commented on the words of US President Joe Biden. As the head of the White House said earlier, he has reason to believe that Russia "plans to attack Ukraine in the coming week, in the coming days."
In response to the statements of the American correspondent, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, ironically stated: “American journalists have forgotten that the “plan of action on the battlefield” has already been published by German publications. Some inattentive."
In a commentary to RIA Novosti, a source close to the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the new "sensation" of the American CBS television channel about "orders" of the RF Armed Forces to develop plans for an "invasion" of Ukraine is nonsense. In his opinion, David Martin's statement puts Biden in a stupid position.
While Western politicians are talking about an “invasion” any day now, Ukraine is saying there is no reason to talk about a Russian attack anytime soon.
“A strike force from the Russian side has not yet been formed in any city where they surrounded Ukraine. Therefore, it is inappropriate, in my opinion, to talk about an attack tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
But this does not mean that the risks are low, does not mean that there is no threat. I want to remind our partners that the threat has existed since 2013,” Head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Oleksiy Reznik said on the air of the 1+1 TV channel. He assured that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are ready to resist the Russian troops.
On February 20, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov once again stressed that Moscow had no plans to attack anyone. As confirmation of his words, he cited Russia's written reaction to the response to the American side on security guarantees.
The document “unambiguously states: there is no “Russian invasion” of Ukraine, which the United States and its allies have been declaring at the official level since autumn last year, and is not planned,” Antonov recalled.
“I would like to clarify the current situation. Russia does not pose a threat to the United States, does not threaten Ukraine. We do not seek to destabilize Washington or Kiev. Americans and Ukrainians are not our enemies,” Antonov stressed.
"Allegations of Russia's responsibility for the escalation can only be seen as an attempt to put pressure on and devalue Russia's proposals for security guarantees," the Russian diplomat added.
He drew attention to the fact that many US media "replicate stuffing that" the Russians are about to attack their neighbor ", while the deadlines are constantly postponed." According to him, “these rumors” are part of the information war. The purpose of such actions is to “distort the true state of affairs and present Russia in an extremely negative light.”
The Russian ambassador to the United States also recalled the repeated statements by the Russian side that Moscow is aimed at "solving urgent problems through diplomacy."
“Nevertheless, the United States persists in indoctrinating the public with outright lies. Of particular bewilderment is the new “stuffing” by American officials regarding the evacuation of citizens from the territory of the LPR and DPR, ”Antonov’s words are quoted in the embassy post.
He explained that Russia's readiness to accept on its territory the evacuated citizens of the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass is distorted by American representatives.
Washington, he said, perceives this gesture “as an element of propaganda aimed at justifying the “imminent invasion” of Ukraine. Such statements are another round of the American disinformation campaign against Russia,” Antonov said.
The Ambassador recommended that "the authors of these allegations personally visit the Donbass and get acquainted with the tragic consequences of the" military assistance "provided to Ukraine by the United States and its allies."
As for the Russian military stationed inside the country's borders, Antonov said that this circumstance "does not and cannot affect the fundamental interests of the United States." “I remind you that there are no our forces on the territory of Ukraine,” the ambassador said in a comment, the text of which was posted by the diplomatic mission.
The ambassador added that after the end of the exercises in Belarus, the Russian troops, which do not threaten anyone, will return to their permanent place of deployment.On February 19, the authorities of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR announced the evacuation of civilians to Russia. The republics report that the Ukrainian military is shelling territories not controlled by Kiev. RIA Novosti writes that on the evening of February 20, artillery salvos were heard in Lugansk.
Acting head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia Alexander Chupriyan said that by 19:00 on February 20, more than 53 thousand refugees from the south-east of Ukraine had crossed the Russian border. “They were evacuated, taken on 142 buses to 101 temporary accommodation points,” the official said.
According to him, 419 people applied for medical help, including 74 children. “In general, the condition of people who came to us is improving, psychologists say that they have gained confidence, joy in communication,” Chupriyan added.
Refugees are accommodated both in the Rostov region (the region closest to the Donbass) and in other regions of Russia - Ryazan, Voronezh, Astrakhan regions. The Russian Investigative Committee opened criminal cases after the death of civilians during shelling over the past few days.
bbabo.Net