US says Russia may create pretext to attack Ukraine
India Today
The United States has said that Russia might create a surprise pretext for an attack on Ukraine.
The United States has said that Russia might create a surprise pretext for an attack on Ukraine.
Russia could invade Ukraine at any time and might create a surprise pretext for an attack, the United States said on Sunday, as it reaffirmed a pledge to defend "every inch" of NATO territory.
Russia has more than 100,000 troops massed near Ukraine, which is not part of the Atlantic military alliance, and Washington - while keeping open the diplomatic channels that have so far failed to ease the crisis - has repeatedly said an invasion is imminent.
Moscow denies any such plans and has accused the West of "hysteria".
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the eve of a trip that takes him to Kyiv on Monday and Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, called for Russia to de-escalate and warned of sanctions if Moscow did invade.
A German official said Berlin did not expect "concrete results" but diplomacy was important.
In what could amount to a major concession to Moscow, Ukraine's ambassador to Britain told the BBC Kyiv could drop its bid to join NATO to avoid war.
