Kremlin Says 90K Troops on Ukraine’s Border Is Artificial Crisis

Vladimir Putin
(Photo by Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)

“The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming” is the upcoming peril Ukraine faces every day. Moscow’s persistent mischief, rattling sabers to maintain Kyiv on edge, continues unabated, and as Liberty Nation reported not too long ago, the United States, NATO, and the European Union are getting nervous. According to Fox News correspondent Peter Aitken, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin pooh-poohed the concept hundreds of Russian fight troops on Ukraine’s border are readying for invasion. He derisively known as the United States hysterical for such a notion.

Vladimir Putin
(Photo by Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images)

Aitken mentioned that Russian flack Dmitry Peskov “… criticized US news media for ‘artificially’ creating panic about an invasion after the release of satellite images on November 8 showed around 90,000 Russian troops gathered near Ukraine’s border.” Aitken went on: “‘This hysteria is being whipped up artificially,’ Peskov said on state television. ‘Those who have brought their armed forces from overseas are accusing us of unusual military activity on our own territory. That is the United States.’”

But Groucho Marx’ well-known query involves thoughts, “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?”

There is little fuzz on Russia’s intent so far as Ukraine’s chief of intelligence, Brigadier General Kyrylo Budanov, is anxious. Writing for Military Times, Howard Altman described the extent of Ukraine’s concern as not a matter of “if” however “when” Moscow’s forces will stream throughout the border. Altman defined:

“Russia has more than 92,000 troops amassed around Ukraine’s borders and is preparing for an attack by the end of January or beginning of February, the head of Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency told Military Times. Such an attack would likely involve airstrikes, artillery, and armor attacks followed by airborne assaults in the east, amphibious assaults in Odessa and Mariupol, and a smaller incursion through neighboring Belarus Ukraine, Brig. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov told Military Times … in an exclusive interview.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
(Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images)

The U.S. intelligence group has an analogous view of the Kremlin’s plans. A Bloomberg News dispatch by Alberto Nardelli and Jennifer Jacobs reported, “The US has shared intelligence including maps with European allies that shows a buildup of Russian troops and artillery to prepare for a rapid, large-scale push into Ukraine from multiple locations if President Vladimir Putin decided to invade, according to people familiar with the conversations.” Nardelli and Jacobs revealed that the United States supplied info to NATO members that underscored America’s concern about Putin’s goal and “increasingly frantic” efforts on the diplomatic entrance to influence the Kremlin in opposition to invading. In addition, European diplomats have been speaking instantly with the Russian president.

To get some readability on what may be prompting Russia’s conduct towards Ukraine, Liberty Nation seemed to James Farwell, an skilled on info warfare and its use in hybrid assaults on adversaries. In a one-on-one interview, Farwell – creator of the guide Information Warfare — sees Putin’s gambit in a different way. Asked what he makes of Putin’s endgame in inserting the infantry, armor, and artillery at Ukraine’s doorstep, Farwell identified:

“Since seizing Crimea, Putin has resorted to information warfare — the use of information to conduct warfare — to advance Russian interests. Although Russian actions have employed violence, Putin’s actions fall short of armed conflict. He wants to prevail without a war. All the tactics he’s employed since 2014 align with that view. The current maneuvers seem to be the latest evidence of using psychological warfare to intimidate the West into backing off active support — especially the supply of arms — to Ukraine.”

Nonetheless, if the United States, NATO allies, and EU international locations don’t totally respect that the Russian president “wants to prevail without war,” a miscalculation concerning the Kremlin’s intentions might result in a taking pictures battle. To get a greater understanding of what the Russian president is as much as, the U.S. Secretary of Defense informed the Pentagon press corps throughout a latest briefing, in line with Military Times:

“American officials are unsure why Russian President Vladimir Putin is building up military forces near the border with eastern Ukraine but view it as another example of troubling military moves that demand Moscow’s explanation, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday (November 17). ‘We’ll continue to call on Russia to act responsibly and be more transparent on the buildup of the forces around (and) on the border of Ukraine,’ Austin told a Pentagon news conference, adding, ‘We’re not sure exactly what Mr. Putin is up to.’”

In the backwards and forwards between the United States and Western Europe and the Russian authorities, it’s obvious there isn’t any frequent floor. Nor is there a sign from the West as to its response. In any occasion, the heated phrases coming from the Kremlin aren’t useful.

According to the Associated Press, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) launched a “strongly worded statement” that “scathingly criticized the US State Department of spreading ‘absolute lies’ about a purported Russian buildup near Ukraine.” The SVR claimed, “The Americans are painting a horrible picture of Russian tank armadas crushing Ukrainian cities … It’s surprising to see a speed at which a formerly respectable foreign policy agency is turning into a mouthpiece of mendacious propaganda.”

The Russians ended their public screed with a comparability between the scenario in Ukraine and the circumstances that led to Moscow’s invasion of Georgia in 2008. Naturally, reliving the plight of Georgia is one thing the United States and Europe wish to keep away from. Unfortunately, there isn’t any mistaking a menace, nevertheless veiled.

The views expressed are these of the creator and never of another affiliation.

~  Read extra from Dave Patterson.