There is no indication that the President of Russia Vladimir Putin A former US ambassador to Russia said he would prevent aggression against Ukraine despite recent talks with world leaders.
Michael McFaul, who is now director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, said: “There is no indication that Putin has stopped his march towards war, and his preparations for war.
“Every indication is that he continues to build up his forces across all borders and from the water, against Ukraine,” he told CNBC. “Squawk Box Asia” in Monday.
Russian troops have been massing along its border with Ukraine for months, raising fears that Moscow might invade Ukraine after its annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia has denied those accusations.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday The Kremlin has accelerated its military build-up in recent days.
The United States has previously said Russia could fabricate a Ukrainian attack as an excuse to invade a neighboring country.
McFaul said the fake flag attacks were a “good tactic” by Russia and not new. He said the warnings from the US were “credible”, although Moscow has denied the allegations.
“I admire the way the Biden administration is working on this and declassifying information that would normally be difficult to declassify. That suggests to me that it’s trustworthy,” he said.
Uncertainty
However, McFaul said no one knows what will happen next in the Russia-Ukraine tensions or how Moscow will respond to sanctions from the US and the West.
“I don’t think anyone knows. I think there’s a lot of uncertainty right now,” he said.
That is partly because the Russian leader is “isolated”, he said.
“Putin is very isolated, even in his own country. He rarely talks to advisers,” McFaul said.
– CNBC’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
