Sylvie Claire / February 17, 2022
Russia has increased its presence on the border with Ukraine by at least 7,000 troops, some of whom arrived Wednesday, a senior White House official said, calling Moscow's announcement of a withdrawal of forces false.
Yesterday the Russians announced that they were withdrawing troops from the border with Ukraine. We now know that this is not true. In fact we have now confirmed that in recent days Russia has increased its presence along the Ukrainian border by up to 7,000 troops, some of whom arrived today, the senior official, who requested anonymity, told reporters.
Russia says it wants to find a diplomatic solution but its actions indicate otherwise. We hope they will change direction before launching a catastrophic and destructive war, he said.
He assured that Russia could at any moment launch an operation that would serve as a pretext to invade Ukraine.
The senior official estimated that this pretext operation could take different forms, such as a provocation in the Donbass region, or a fake incursion into Russian territory.
Indicating that he expects more misinformation from the Russian state media in the coming days, he said, We hope the world is ready.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, a senior White House official said Wednesday.
This will be a real opportunity to underline our commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, he added.