Washington — Sunday’s denial by Anatoly Antonov, the Russian Ambassador to America, that the Kremlin has been preparing an invasion of Ukraine despite the presence of approximately 150,000 Russian troops and U.S. forces. intelligence that Russian commanders were given orders to proceed.
Antonov stated that there is no invasion and that there are no such plans in an interview with Face the Nation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has gathered approximately 150,000 soldiers, warplanes, and equipment on three of his neighbours’ sides. He also conducted military drills close to Ukraine’s northern border. These exercises were meant to conclude Sunday with a large Russian contingent arriving in Belarus.
Reporters were told Friday by Mr. Biden that he was “convinced” Putin had made the decision to invade Ukraine. He also stated that the U.S. believes Russian forces will attack the country in the “coming days”.
The U.S. also has intelligence that Russian commanders received orders to invade Ukraine. Commanders on the ground have been planning their maneuvers in specific areas of the battlefield. This was reported by David Martin , CBS News national security correspondent, on Sunday’s Face the Nation. Martin stated that the intelligence shows that they are doing all that American commanders would do after being given the order to proceed.
The Biden administration has maintained that diplomacy is still possible, with approximately 5,000 U.S. soldiers deployed to Eastern Europe to support NATO forces. The president stressed that no American troops would enter Ukraine if Russia invades. However, he warned of severe sanctions for Russia.
The U.S., along with other allies such as Germany and Austria, has also called for the evacuation of their citizens. Due to the rapid buildup of Russian forces, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine temporarily moved its operations to Lviv.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, has asked Putin to meet him to discuss the crisis. However, he was critical of Western leaders present at a Munich security conference, saying they shouldn’t wait to impose sanctions on Russia until there is an attack.
We don’t need your Sanctions after the bombardment, or after we have fired at our country or after our economy is destroyed or no longer exists in our country. “Why would we need these sanctions?” He said.
Antonov was asked why there hasn’t been a meeting between Putin, Zelensky, even though Russia says it is interested in diplomacy. He countered, asking, “Why do you all only look at one side?” Why do you choose to ignore the other? “Why are you ignoring Russian security concerns?”
Antonov stated that Russia is not threatening anyone despite the presence of military equipment and forces in Ukraine. Russia also has the “legitimate right” to place its troops wherever it wants on Russian territory.
“We are not threatening anyone. We are not threatening the United States. We are not threatening Ukraine. He said that it was very simple to resolve this crisis. “If Kyiv is persuaded to sit at the table for negotiations with Luhansk, Donbas people, so that there will no fighting, there won’t be any casualties, it will be easy to solve this crisis.” It’s easy.
Antonov stated that Moscow is concerned about the U.S.’s weapons and security assistance provided to Ukraine. He stated that Russia opposes NATO expansion and asked for the U.S. withdrawal of troops and weaponry from its neighbouring countries.
He stated that “We would love to put everything on paper, and we would like legally binding guarantees for Russian Security.” “We have sent our proposal package, now what? We don’t want the next round of NATO expansion. We ask that you do not use any countries in central and eastern Europe to develop their new weapons. We do not want INF missiles to be deployed in Europe.
Antonov said again, “There is no invasion now.”
He said, “As you all know, there was a lot fake news in mass media and on many American channels today that we’re going invading, and I would like confirm that there is no plan to start war.” “We don’t want to start war.”
