The NY Times is reporting that a senior official in Biden’s administration accused Russia of lying about pulling troops from Ukraine’s border when in fact they have added more than 7,000 army personnel to the front lines.
Despite Putin’s claim that he’s open to diplomatic debates, and that he has ordered some troops to return to their barracks, he is still quietly mobilizing for war.
British military officials also said they had spotted Russian armored vehicles, helicopters and a field hospital moving toward Ukraine’s border.
‘We continue to receive indications that they could launch a false pretext at any moment to justify an invasion of Ukraine,’ said the White House official.
FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrive to attend the joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Zapad-2021 at the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia, on Sept. 13, 2021. Ukrainian and Western officials are worried that a Russian military buildup near Ukraine could signal plans by Moscow to invade its ex-Soviet neighbor. The Kremlin insists it has no such intention and has accused Ukraine and its Western backers of making the claims to cover up their own allegedly aggressive designs. (Sergei Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)