Kiev is preparing for war with Russia, despite the statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about whipping up panic, writes The Washington Post (WP).
Ukrainian intelligence
The newspaper’s sources said that Ukrainian intelligence removed secret materials, documents and equipment from the headquarters in Kiev “to safe places in the west of the country.” Such actions were regarded by journalists as “external manifestations” of Ukraine’s preparations for an escalation of the conflict on the border.
Ukrainian intelligence removed secret documents and equipment from its headquarters in the capital to safe places in the west of the country
Washington Post source
At the same time, Western politicians are worried about “public skepticism” and Zelensky’s doubts about the “threat” posed by Russia. The source admitted that the position of the presidential administration may not coincide with the priorities of the military and intelligence.
I think that Zelensky and his political team are working on their own set of priorities, and they don’t necessarily match those of the intelligence and military.
U.S. government representative specializing in Russia
Zelensky’s office
The source clarified that Zelensky is increasingly confident that the United States has “political reasons” to blame Russia. In Kiev, they believe that the actions of the Americans may be associated with a desire to force Ukraine to abandon its plans to join NATO.
Zelensky complained about the economic losses that the country is suffering due to the West escalating the situation around a possible war. The politician reproached the West for declaring that “tomorrow there will be a war”, which is actually not the case, and called such an information policy “a little unbalanced”. At the same time, Zelensky stressed that he does not deny the escalation in relations with Russia.
Slightly unbalanced information policy of our partners
The same version was put forward by the American newspaper Politico. According to her, Zelensky fears that Washington is deliberately exaggerating the Russian threat, for example, in order to conclude agreements with Moscow on the Donbass. At the same time, the administration of US President Joe Biden is unhappy with the “downplaying” of the Russian threat in Kiev.
The American leader confirmed Washington’s support for efforts to resolve the conflict in the Normandy format. At the same time, he assured Zelensky of the readiness of the United States, along with partners, to respond decisively if Russia invades Ukraine.
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Probability of conflict
The likelihood of a military conflict in southeastern Ukraine has been discussed by Western politicians and the media since the fall of 2021. American, Ukrainian and European politicians have repeatedly accused Moscow of planning an attack on Ukraine. The Kremlin denies these allegations, calling them unfounded.
A spokesman for the Russian president stressed that Moscow considers it necessary to leave troops near the border with Ukraine as a precautionary measure and a reaction to the unfriendly atmosphere “created by various NATO exercises, fighter jets and spy planes.”
We are witnessing a gradual NATO invasion of the territory of Ukraine with its infrastructure, its instructors, stocks of defensive and offensive weapons, training of the Ukrainian military, and the like.
In the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), they believe that war is possible – but, according to their version, Kiev is planning to invade the Donbass.
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