Ukraine is again trying to give Washington a dose of reality and clamping down on overly alarmist hype surrounding the potential for a Russian invasion of Ukraine. As we detailed earlier, Biden's national security adviser in Sunday interviews said the invasion could come "any day now" - or possibly even "tomorrow".
Further, Western and especially US media reports continue to push the idea that Moscow is intent on pursuing military action in Ukraine. For example The Washington Post demonstrated the ongoing contention over just what Russia's "intent" is...
Over the weekend, senior Russian officials dismissed new U.S. intelligence reports that Russia could take over Kyiv in days as alarmist and as unlikely as an attack by Washington on London.
"Madness and scaremongering continues.… What if we would say that US could seize London in a week and cause 300K civilian deaths?" Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, tweeted Sunday.
Ironically, the latest high-level statements out of both Kiev and Brussels suggest that both Ukraine and NATO headquarters actually side with Russia's criticisms of Washington's "apocalyptic" rhetoric.
On Sunday Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged his fellow citizens to ignore "apocalyptic predictions" that a Russian invasion is imminent. Kuleba sought to calm his country by further saying, "Different capitals have different scenarios, but Ukraine is ready for any development." It reaffirms President Volodymyr Zelensky's words from a week ago saying there are "no tanks in the streets" and that foreign media must stop stoking unnecessary panic.
And Ukraine's top military chief, Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov, reacted to White House officials saying this weekend that a Russian invasion could be "days" away by saying this threat remains "low". Russian media has reported Reznikov's words issued to Italy’s Repubblica newspaper in a fresh interview as follows:
"It [an alleged aggression] may happen sooner or later, but there are no immediate risks. First, they spoke about January (when the alleged intrusion may begin - TASS), now they speak about February, some say it will be in the spring," he said, commenting on Western intelligence services’ forecasts. "We won’t be fighting, but when we are attacked, we will get prepared for that," he added.
According to Reznikov, Kiev is not hatching any plans of attacking Crimea, Lugansk, or Donetsk. "We won’t stage any offensive: Ukrainians are living in Crimea, Lugansk, and Donetsk and it would put them at danger," he said.
Additionally, Ukraine's Defense Ministry has stated the following on its website: "We have all the information and realistically assess the situation. Many different hypothetical estimates and predictions can now be heard. Especially in foreign media. Some have even announced an invasion of Russia, which, however, took place 8 years ago.
Adding to these much toned-down assessments, the latest out of NATO itself also seems to push back against the White House.
VIDEO: More US soldiers and vehicles arrive in Poland as part of NATO moves to send in extra troops over fears that Russia could invade Ukraine pic.twitter.com/z64ijVqi3e
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 7, 2022
NATO's most senior military officer said Monday that in his assessment, Russia has yet to place enough of a troop force near Ukraine at this point for any kind of large-scale invasion...
Admiral Rob Bauer, NATO’s most senior military officer, said that Russia will have assembled enough military forces to potentially stage an operation against Ukraine at the end of February. But he added that officials cannot determine Putin’s intention or plans regarding Kyiv and that NATO doesn’t currently envision a direct threat to alliance members.
"Up until now, we don’t see an intent, we don’t expect an attack on NATO soil by Russia -– either directly or via Belarus," he said Monday at a news conference in Vilnius.
Meanwhile, none of the above important statements seem to be making into American mainstream headlines; instead, US media appears content to continue focusing on prior debunked and walked-back claims of an "imminent" Russian invasion.
(Article by Tyler Durden republished from Zerohedge.com)
