President Biden asserted that Russia may engage in a falsified flag operation to justify their entry into Ukrainian territory, pushing back on Russian claims the country has reduced its troops along Ukraine's border.
As Biden boarded Marine One on Thursday, he told reporters that the United States places an "extremely high" threat on possible Russian invasion of Ukraine and predicts it will come within the next few days.
We have reason to believe that it is a false-flag operation they are doing to have an excuse to move in," Biden said. The troops have not been moved out but have been shifted in more troops.
The White House deputy press secretary presented possible false flag scenarios aboard Air Force One on Thursday, including a potential provocation in Ukraine's disputed Donbas region, a charge that NATO activity may have taken place by land, sea, or air, and an incursion into Russian territory.
Earlier in the week, the Russian Defense Ministry released videos of tanks and armored vehicles on the move and described this as troops relocating to “places of permanent deployment.”
He added that the United States has confirmed that Russian forces have increased along the Ukrainian border by approximately 7,000 in recent days, despite Russian claims of troop withdrawals. In his comments Tuesday, Biden said there were more than 150,000 Russian soldiers on the border of Ukraine and in Belarus.
A second U.S. diplomat had also been expelled from the embassy in Moscow by the Russian government on Thursday, according to the State Department.
According to a spokesperson for the Department of State, the move was "unprovoked" and "escalatory" and the government is considering what to do in response.
18 Feb 2022
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