Russia denies looking for pretext to invade Ukraine

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MOSCOW – Russia's apical diplomat angrily rejected the U.S. allegations that it was preparing a pretext to invade Ukraine arsenic Russian troops that are amassed adjacent the Ukraine borderline launched much drills Monday.

The White House said Friday that U.S. quality officials had concluded that Russia had already deployed operatives to rebel-controlled eastbound Ukraine to transportation retired acts of sabotage determination and blasted them connected Ukraine successful a “false-flag operation” to make a pretext for imaginable invasion.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the U.S. assertion arsenic “total disinformation.”

He reaffirmed that Russia expects a written effect this week from the U.S. and its allies to Moscow’s petition for binding guarantees that NATO volition not clasp Ukraine oregon immoderate different ex-Soviet nations, oregon presumption its forces and weapons there.

Washington and its allies firmly rejected Moscow's demands during past week’s Russia-U.S. negotiations successful Geneva and a related NATO-Russia gathering successful Brussels, which were held arsenic an estimated 100,000 Russian troops with tanks and different dense weapons are massed adjacent Ukraine successful what the West fears mightiness beryllium a prelude to an invasion.

Amid the troops buildup, Russia successful caller weeks has held a bid of warfare games successful regions that borderline Ukraine. On Monday, the subject announced the motorboat of different workout involving armored units stationed successful the occidental portion of Russia that includes 300 combat vehicles.

A delegation of U.S. senators is visiting Ukraine to stress U.S. enactment for the country.

“Our bipartisan legislature delegation sends a wide connection to the planetary community: the United States stands successful unwavering enactment of our Ukrainian partners to support their sovereignty and successful the look of persistent Russian aggression,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, said successful a statement.

Speaking Monday connected a sojourn to Kyiv, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned that “any further escalation would transportation a precocious terms for the Russian authorities — economic, governmental and strategic” — and emphasized the request to proceed negotiations.

“We are prepared to person a superior dialog with Russia, due to the fact that diplomacy is the lone mode to defuse this highly unsafe situation,” she said.

Baerbock said Germany has offered to nonstop cybersecurity specialists to Ukraine to assistance analyse past week's cyberattacks, which Ukrainian authorities person blamed connected Russia. At the aforesaid time, she noted that Germany hasn’t changed its refusal to supply it with weapons.

“We made wide that we volition bash everything to debar escalating the crisis,” she said.

Ukrainian officials person warned that Russia could motorboat an onslaught from assorted directions, including from the territory of its state Belarus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has progressively relied connected the Kremlin's enactment amid Western sanctions implicit a brutal crackdown connected home protests, said Russia and Belarus volition clasp monolithic subject drills adjacent month.

Lukashenko said the maneuvers volition beryllium conducted connected Belarus' occidental borderline and besides successful the country's south, wherever it borders Ukraine. Belarus Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich said Monday that Russian troops already had started arriving successful the state for the exercise, according to the BELTA quality agency.

Russia has denied having plans to onslaught its neighbour and successful crook accused the Ukrainian enactment of hatching plans to usage unit to reclaim power of Russian-backed rebel-held territories successful eastbound Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities person denied it.

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine successful 2014 aft the ouster of Ukraine’s Moscow-friendly person and besides threw its value down a separatist insurgency successful eastbound Ukraine. More than 14,000 radical person been killed successful astir 8 years of warring there.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow volition instrumentality unspecified “military-technical measures” if the West stonewalls its demands.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who led the Russian delegation astatine the talks with the U.S. successful Geneva, said past week that helium would “neither corroborate nor exclude” the anticipation of Russia sending subject assets to Cuba and Venezuela if the U.S. and its allies don’t curtail their subject activities connected Russia’s doorstep. U.S. nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan has dismissed the comments arsenic bluster.

Asked Monday astir the anticipation of Russian rocket deployment to Cuba and Venezuela, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “Russia is reasoning astir however to guarantee its information successful the discourse of the existent situation.”

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Yuras Karmanau reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Frank Jordans contributed to this study from Berlin.

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