Russia's envoy: US trying to 'whip up hysteria' over Ukraine with UN meeting

Russia’s envoy to the United Nations says the United States is trying to "whip up hysteria" by pushing for a UN Security Council meeting on the Ukrainian crisis as Washington is seeking to mislead the world community about the real state of things around Ukraine.

Vasily Nebenzya said the UN debate session, which was held on Monday, was an attempt by the US to mislead the international community about Ukraine and the current outburst of global tensions, and that the initiative was an example of “megaphone diplomacy.” 

Nebenzya also accused the US of fomenting unfounded allegations against his country and said there is “no proof” Russia is planning to invade Ukraine, adding that the talk of war by the US is “provocative.”

The US representative to the UN had earlier claimed that the Russian deployment of more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine's borders justified the debate at the UN Security Council, with the Russian envoy dismissing the allegation and saying Russia has frequently deployed troops within its own territory without “causing hysterics.”

"In its explanatory note to the initiative to call today’s meeting, the US delegation said it considers the deployment of Russian troops on Russian territory a threat to international peace. It is not only inadmissible interference into the domestic affairs of our country but also an attempt to mislead the international community about the real situation in the region and the reasons for the current global tensions," Nebenzya was quoted by Russia’s TASS news agency as saying at a UN Security Council meeting on the situation around Ukraine.

“As a matter of fact, they suggest we call a Security Council meeting over wild guesses and ungrounded accusations that we have repeatedly refuted," the Russian envoy said, adding. "Apart from that, the open format suggested by the United States, along with the extremely provocative topic, makes this meeting a classical example of megaphone diplomacy, playing to the gallery we have repeatedly called to drop.”

The Russian ambassador to the UN underlined, “This hysteria is no less harmful for Ukraine, whose president [Vladimir Zelensky], as you might have heard, has recently asked the Western countries to stop whipping up ungrounded hysteria around the deployment of Russian troops at the border as this fuss is harming the Ukrainian economy. ‘We don’t need this panic,’ Mr. Zelensky said. But it looks like it is in the interests of those who are hyping up the topic of a mythical Russian threat."

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy urges West not to stir ‘panic’ over ‘imminent invasion’ by Russia

The Ukrainian president has called on the West not to stir ‘panic’ over what the US and its allies say an imminent invasion by Russia.

Russia and the US-led NATO have recently been at odds over Ukraine. Western countries accuse Russia of preparing for an invasion of Ukraine by amassing 100,000 troops and armaments near the border with that country. Rejecting the allegation, Moscow says the troop build-up is defensive as NATO has increased its activity near Russian borders.

Last month, the Russian government demanded that the Western military alliance deny Ukraine membership at NATO and roll back its military deployments.

Moscow also proposed that the US not establish any military bases in the former Soviet states that are not part of NATO, and not develop a bilateral military alliance with them. Washington has rejected the proposals as “non-starters.”

The US and the European Union have already threatened tough economic sanctions against Russia in case of an attack on Ukraine.

Biden says to send troops after Ukraine asks West 'not to stir panic'

US President Joe Biden says he will soon deploy American military forces to Eastern Europe as part of a plan to maintain pressure on Russia.

US claims Russia intends to increase troops in Belarus to 30,000

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US envoy to the UN, claimed on Monday that Russia intends to expand its presence at the Belarus-Ukraine border, saying Moscow is planning to build its military force in Belarus to 30,000 within weeks.

After placing some 5,000 troops in Belarus, "We've seen evidence that Russia intends to expand that presence to more than 30,000 troops near the Belarus border" with Ukraine by early February, Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council, adding that the forces would be "less than two hours north of Kiev."

The US envoy also reiterated the West’s allegation that Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine's borders for an impending attack.

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