Pentagon spokesman John KirbyWASHINGTON, Jan 14 Russia seeks «pretext to invade Ukraine «, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, without providing any evidence to support his words. «Without going into too much detail, we have information that shows that Russia is already actively working to create a pretext for a potential invasion, advance into Ukraine» , he said at the briefing.Russia will give a proper response to any provocations in Ukraine, Lavrov said. According to him, the department «has information» that Moscow «has deployed a group of operatives to conduct an operation under a false flag.» According to Kirby, this would allegedly look like «an attack on operatives or Russian-speaking people in Ukraine as an excuse for an invasion.» This is not the first time the US has made such claims. The Foreign Ministry has repeatedly refuted these reports, calling talk of a potential conflict between Russia and Ukraine another fiction. Vladimir Putin has previously stated that Moscow is not going to attack anyone. According to him, the Russian threat is «an invention of those who want to cash in on their role as the vanguard of the fight against Russia, to receive some kind of bonuses and preferences for this.» Tensions in the region are fueled by the United States and other NATO countries that supply weapons to Kiev and military instructors, and increased the number of exercises in the Black Sea. According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, this could provoke the Ukrainian authorities «to military adventures,» which poses a direct threat to Russia's security. Moscow believes that the West is trying to create a grouping of troops near the Russian borders. Vladimir Putin has previously stressed that the further expansion of NATO to the east and the deployment of offensive weapons on Ukrainian territory and in neighboring countries are red lines for Moscow.
The Pentagon assessed the need for a «hot line» with Russia on Ukraine
