First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyansky. Archival photoUN, Feb. 21First Deputy Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyansky on the air of the British TV channel Sky News urged not to take for granted the allegations of American and British intelligence, stating that Moscow allegedly deployed 150,000 troops on the border with Ukraine.
"We don't trust British and American intelligence. They let us down many times, and the whole world. Suffice it to recall the incident with weapons of mass destruction in Iraq,” Polyansky said, answering the host’s question about “what 150,000 people are doing there.” military.
«First of all, who counted them? Where did you get this figure of 150 thousand people? I remember, first it was 100 thousand, then it was 120 thousand, now 150 thousand. Someone says 190 thousand. I admit that inflation here in New York is very high — we see the prices,» the first deputy representative joked. Polyansky stressed that the Russian military are on their territory and are located not directly on the border, but within their bases. At the same time, the diplomat stated that Russia is concerned about the fact that the Ukrainian side has concentrated 120,000 of its troops on the contact line in the Donbass and «started shelling the Donbass on Saturday.» «So of course we can't be relaxed,» he added.West ignores escalation in eastern Ukraine, Polyansky said Representatives of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics said on the morning of February 17 that the armed forces of Ukraine opened fire on their positions. Ruslan Yakubov, head of the DPR office at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire, told RIA Novosti that Kiev is ignoring the Minsk agreements by using mortars and artillery. The representative of the LPR in the political subgroup, Rodion Miroshnik, told RIA Novosti that by shelling the territory of the Donbass republics from heavy weapons, Kiev purposefully violates the ceasefire measures in Donbass signed in the summer of 2020. and located in positions near the settlements of Donbass, indicates preparations for a military solution. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov claims that Kiev does not plan any military actions and military operations. He stated that Ukraine intends to act in a political and diplomatic way. Western countries that provide diplomatic and military support to Kiev, during the last series of meetings and negotiations, repeatedly called on Kiev to comply with the Minsk agreements. In particular, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that all parties must adhere to them. According to Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to submit draft laws on the special status of Donbass, constitutional reform and suffrage for discussion in the contact group on Ukraine. 
February 19, 11:15 InfographicHow the situation in Donbas developedInfographicViewPosted by: Nikita Stoma