President Biden said on Thursday that he expects that Russia may invade Ukraine in the ‘next several days,’ but he has ‘no plans’ to call Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“My sense is it will happen within the next several days,” President Biden remarked about a Russian invasion. He added that he has “no plans” to call Putin after speaking to him on Saturday.
“Every indication we have is they are prepared to go into Ukraine, attack Ukraine,” he added.
On Saturday, Biden said the U.S. and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs” if Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
The White House’s remarks point to diplomatic escalation amidst conflicting reports of Moscow initiating a troop withdrawal away from Ukrainian forces, along with reports that pro-Russian forces are ‘shelling’ Ukrainian installations.
“Ukraine and Moscow-backed separatists traded accusations Thursday of intensifying shell fire across their frontline, fuelling fears of a potential Russian invasion of its pro-Western neighbour,” AFP reported.
“Ukraine has been in conflict with rebels in the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions since 2014, in a war that has cost thousands of lives,” the report noted. “But the new reports of intense shelling came as fears grow that the situation could escalate into a wider conflict.”
The pro-Russian forces allegedly attacked a nursery to frame Ukrainian forces in a ‘false flag’ operation.
“A children’s nursery has allegedly been struck by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, raising fears among Western powers that Moscow is plotting a ‘false flag’ attack as an excuse to invade the country,” the UK’s Evening Standard reported.
Kiev released images on Thursday morning of a badly damaged building with children’s toys on the floor, surrounded by debris following the alleged shelling by separatists forces in Stanytsia Luhanska, in eastern Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed the attack on the kindergarten was a “false flag operation designed to discredit the Ukrainians,” the report noted.
“We fear very much that that is a thing we will see more of over the next few days,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin has warned about purported Russian ‘provocation’ in the Ukrainian conflict. Moscow has retaliated diplomatically by expelling the deputy chief of U.S. mission in Russia, AFP reported.
The Russian Foreign Ministry denied on Thursday that it is planning any attack on Ukraine. But the Russian ministry added that it “will be forced to respond, including with military-technical measures,” if there are no U.S. security guarantees.
The foreign ministry ‘s website was also reported to be knocked offline on Thursday, which follows the Russian embassy mocking U.S. claims of imminent invasion with memes.
Russia has repeatedly struck a sarcastic tone in response to Western media reports of imminent Ukrainian invasion. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova jokingly asked American and British journalists to release a schedule of Russia’s “upcoming invasions” of Ukraine for the year.
“I’d like to request US and British disinformation: Bloomberg, The New York Times and The Sun media outlets to publish the schedule for our upcoming invasions for the year. I’d like to plan my vacation,” Zakharova snarked on her Telegram channel Wednesday.
On the U.S. homefront, President Joe Biden is facing imploding domestic approval amidst failing economic and social policies. The Biden administration’s fixation on the Russia-Ukraine conflict provides a useful distraction — even if it risks World War III.
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