Ukrainian troops take part in a military exercise outside the city of Rivne on Wednesday.
Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images
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Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian troops take part in a military exercise outside the city of Rivne on Wednesday.
Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images
Russia’s recent claim that it has begun withdrawing some troops from the Ukrainian border is “false,” a senior administration official told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday.
In fact, we have confirmed that in the past few days, Russia has increased its military presence along the Ukrainian border by up to 7,000 troops, with some coming as recently as today, the official said. now on”.
That repeat a report earlier in the day from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who warned that the United States should remain skeptical of Russia’s claims.
“Unfortunately, there’s a discrepancy between what Russia says and what they do, and what we’re seeing doesn’t make any sense,” Blinken said in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America.
Speaking on TuesdayPresident Biden said that Russia has “more than 150,000 troops besieging Ukraine and Belarus and along the Ukrainian border.”
“An invasion,” Biden said, “is still clearly possible.”
The official added on Wednesday that although Russia said it was interested in diplomacy, “All our indications are now is that they just want to publicly offer to talk and make a statement about de-escalation.” while campaigning exclusively for war.”
The official reiterated that the Biden administration would welcome diplomatic measures and steps to de-escalate the conflict, but made the warning clear during a news conference ahead of Vice President Harris’ trip to Germany. , who is leading the American delegation to the Munich Security Conference. There, she is scheduled to meet 13 heads of state later this week, according to senior administration officials.
Western officials have in recent weeks and months scrambled to assess the threat posed by Russia to Ukraine and come up with a unified response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued escalation on the border. gender.
Biden spoke directly to Putin and said he made the US position clear: If Russia launches an invasion of Ukraine, there will be dire consequences.
This week, in a diplomatic effort to resolve the growing crisis on the Russia-Ukraine border, Biden spoke for nearly an hour with French President Emmanuel Macron; German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Putin in Moscow; and Harris are set to depart on Thursday for Munich; among other steps.
