US President Joe Biden said Thursday there were now indications Russia was
planning to attack Ukraine in the next few days.
And, Biden said, Moscow was preparing a pretext to justify the attack, after
Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels exchanged fire in eastern Ukraine.
The Kremlin accused Biden of stoking tensions and released a strongly worded
letter that said the US was ignoring Russia's security demands and
threatening unspecified "military-technical measures".
Moscow also ordered the expulsion of the number two official at the US
Embassy to Russia.
Gun battles early Thursday between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian
separatists, who have been at war for years and in which the ceasefire is
periodically violated, sparked alarm.
Western officials who have long warned that Moscow could try to come up with
a scenario to justify an invasion say they believe it is now underway.
"We have reason to believe they were involved in a false flag operation to
have a reason to come in. Every indication we have is they are ready to go
to Ukraine and attack Ukraine," Biden told reporters at the White House.
"I think this (attack) will happen in the next few days," he said, as quoted
by Reuters.
Biden ordered Foreign Minister Antony Blinken to change his travel plans at
the last minute to speak at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.
Blinken explained to the UN Security Council what he said were possible
scenarios Russia could come up with to justify an invasion of Ukraine.
"This could be a violent event that Russia will bring to Ukraine, or an
outrageous accusation that Russia will oppose the Ukrainian government,"
Blinken said.
"It could be a so-called fake terrorist bomb inside Russia, the discovery of
a mass grave, a drone attack on civilians, or a fake or even real attack
using chemical weapons," he said.
"Russia may describe this event as ethnic cleansing or genocide," he said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin deeply regrets Blinken's
and dangerous statements. Russia also sent a letter to members of the UN
Security Council accusing the Ukrainian authorities of "exterminating"
civilians in Eastern Ukraine.
