Envoy rejects West's 'fake news' of Russian plan to invade Ukraine

The West has started an intelligence war against Moscow, says Russia’s ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov, adding that “not even one of Russia’s high-ranking representatives has ever said that Russia is going to attack any state.”

Antonov, referring to the allegation that Russia seeks to invade Ukraine, said on Wednesday that “all of this is fake news” and that he had continuously brought the issue up in his meetings with US officials.

“Bloomberg’s recent publication, when it was reported that Russia had already invaded Ukraine, stands out as an example of this unacceptable information campaign,” the diplomat said.

The Bloomberg news site posted a headline on Saturday reading “Russia invades Ukraine,” which stayed up for about 20 minutes before being taken down. The agency later admitted the error and apologized.

“It hardly was a provocation and this makes it clear how dangerous such tensions are, which have been triggered by daily aggressive statements that we keep hearing from Washington, European capitals, and London,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

If Russia invades Ukraine, Nord Stream 2 will be suspended: Biden

US President Joe Biden promises no Nord Stream 2 if Ukraine is invaded by Russia.

The White House and the Pentagon on Wednesday said Moscow was increasing its military presence near Ukraine, even though French President Emmanuel Macron in his visit to Moscow this week said Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured him there would be no “deterioration or escalation” in the stand-off.

“We have continued to see even over the last 24 hours additional capabilities flow from elsewhere in Russia to that border with Ukraine and Belarus,” John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesperson, said.

“The numbers continue to grow. We maintain that he’s north of 100,000 [troops] for sure. And he continues to add to that capability. We also see indications that additional battalion tactical groups are on their way. And so every day he adds to his options,” Kirby added.

US President Joe Biden and his German counterpart met on Monday in an attempt to show off the alliance between Washington and Berlin and warn Moscow that it would face severe economic sanctions if it invaded Ukraine.

Biden, at a joint news conference at the White House, said the Russian invasion of Ukraine would mean the end of the Nord Stream 2 project. “If Russia invades... again, then there will be longer Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it,” Biden said.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is a vast network of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe, running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The project has been a focal point of tensions between Moscow and Washington, with the latter fearing that the pipeline will increase Europe’s reliance on Russian energy.

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