Kremlin outlines who it believes is behind ‘hysteria’ around possible Ukraine invasion
Suggestions that Russia is planning an attack on Ukraine are completely groundless, and the entire scenario is being whipped up by media outlets, with the backing of top political leaders in Kiev, the Kremlin claimed on Sunday.
Speaking to the press, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed the accusation as simply “wrong.”
“This hysteria, which is being stirred up now in the Anglo-Saxon media, in the Ukrainian media, and is supported by Ukrainian politicians led by the head of state [President Volodymyr Zelensky], is absolutely unacceptable,” Peskov said.
“The very allegations that Russia is going to attack someone, and accusations that Russia is somehow being aggressive, are completely groundless,” he continued.
Throughout November, a number of Western media outlets have alleged that Russia is planning an “invasion” of Ukraine. In particular, America’s CBS News reported that a military incursion is increasing in likelihood “as the weather gets colder.”
All suggestions of preparation for war have been denied by Moscow, which has consistently stated that troop movements within Russian borders are no business of foreign countries.
“We fear, we have already said, that this escalation may be an attempt to hide [Ukraine’s] own preparations for a forceful solution to the Donbass problem,” Peskov continued. “That would be complete madness.”
Suggestions about alleged preparation for heightened conflict surround the situation in Ukraine’s Donbass region, where a “frozen” war has been ongoing for more than seven years. The conflict in the Donbass began following the events of the 2014 Maidan, when violent street protests toppled a democratically elected government. This eventually led to the two self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) declaring independence, a move recognized by neither Russia, Ukraine, or any UN state. According to Kiev, the regions are under the direction of the Kremlin. Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict.
The latest accusations that Russia is planning an incursion into Ukraine come just seven months after similar fears were raised in April this year. The latest accusations that Russia is planning an incursion into Ukraine come just seven months after similar fears were raised in April this year. Such calls have been an annual event for some years now.
