Putin seeks excuse to invade Ukraine, blame NATO and US

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Putin is looking for an excuse to invade Ukraine and blame the West, experts say. The Russian president is increasing the warnings about a military response to an alleged NATO aggression. In reality, Putin created tensions in Ukraine by annexing Crimea and supporting rebels in the Donbass region. Loading Something is loading.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is apparently seeking a pretext to invade Ukraine as he continues to blame the tensions on NATO and the United States while stepping up talks over a military response.

“What the United States is doing in Ukraine is on our doorstep … And they should understand that we have nowhere to go. Do they think we’re just going to watch with folded arms?” Putin said during a speech to Russian military leaders on Tuesday, according to Reuters. “If the aggressive line of our Western colleagues continues, we will take adequate military-technical response measures and react harshly to hostile measures. “

The Russian Defense Secretary also claimed without evidence that more than 100 American mercenaries were on the ground in eastern Ukraine threatening Russia with chemical weapons, a charge which experts dismissed as unfounded and at the same time. limit of fantasy; the Pentagon called it “completely wrong”.

Evelyn Farkas, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia under the Obama administration, said in a tweet that Putin “just declared war on Ukraine (claiming that it is the war against the United States and its allies, brought about by us). “

Echoing these sentiments, Alina Polyakova, president of the Center for the Analysis of European Policy, said that “portraying Russia as a victim is misinformation”.

“Ukraine did not invade Russia,” Polyakova added. “Russia has been the aggressor in all recent conflicts – but it serves one purpose: to justify military aggression against the Russian people.”

Putin’s comments came as Russia amassed tens of thousands of troops along Ukraine’s borders, raising fears of an invasion for the second time this year.

The Russian leader, who unilaterally invaded and annexed Crimea to Ukraine in 2014, has repeatedly accused the West of not respecting the Kremlin’s “red lines” in the region. Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Kremlin has supported separatists in a war against Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donbass region that has left more than 13,000 dead. Russia, for its part, claims to have no involvement in the Donbass conflict despite evidence to the contrary.

In recent days, the Russian government has demanded that NATO and the United States do not come to an agreement in any context, including a firm commitment that the alliance will never accept Ukraine and Georgia as members.

Ukraine has sought to join NATO for years and maintains a strong partnership with the alliance that has coincided with members providing security assistance. In addition to training Ukrainian special forces, the United States provided Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank missiles, armored Humvees, radios, and unarmed drones.

—Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) December 21, 2021 “Crazy”

Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday baselessly that American mercenaries were in eastern Ukraine and were preparing a “provocation using unknown chemicals”.

“We have identified the presence of more than 120 members of American mercenary groups in the towns of Avdiivka and Krasny Liman to commit provocations … Tanks filled with unidentified chemicals were delivered to the towns of Avdeevka and Krasny Liman. Krasny Liman to commit provocations, “Shoigu said, The Moscow Times reported, citing a state news agency.

The Russian Defense Minister was essentially alleging that the West was on the verge of committing war crimes against him because international law prohibits the use of chemical weapons.

Russian landing ships and military vehicles during an exercise at the Opuk training ground in Crimea, April 22, 2021. Sergei Malgavko TASS via Getty Images

Michael McFaul, the former US Ambassador to Russia, in a tweet responding to Shoigu’s baseless claims, said: “These are not the words of a rational actor seeking to discuss ‘legitimate’ concerns about the European security. excuse for war. Hoping that all this remains a bluff; by fearing that it is not. “

McFaul dismissed Shoigu’s claims as “completely crazy”.

Likewise, Eurasia Group chairman Ian Bremmer said “Putin was faking serious anger” against the West for “forcing Russia’s hand” on Ukraine. “If you only watch Russian state media, you would think war is inevitable and NATO’s fault,” Bremmer said.

On this subject, a recent poll found that half of the Russian public blamed the United States and NATO for the tensions over Ukraine, while only 4% blamed the Russian government.

In reality, Putin fabricated the recent crisis. His actions in Crimea in 2014 and his support for rebels in Donbass brought Ukraine closer to the West, exacerbating tensions with NATO and the United States on which it now beats the war drum. But he continues to portray Russia as the victim, calling NATO’s growing influence in Ukraine an existential threat to his country.

Experts say Putin sees Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, as an unfinished business. The Russian president called the Russians and Ukrainians “one people”. Steven Pifer, the former US Ambassador to Ukraine, said in a recent editorial that such Putin’s rhetoric is “totally deaf,” adding that “millions of ethnic Ukrainians have heard it as a denial of their culture, their history and their language “.

The United States has warned of serious economic consequences if Russia invades Ukraine, but President Joe Biden recently said the United States would not be required to send troops in the event of a Russian incursion.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Karen Donfried, America’s top diplomat for Europe, warned on Tuesday during a call with reporters that “we are about to act in a dramatic way if Russia undertakes a new military aggression against Ukraine “.

Donfried said the United States would be ready to provide military materiel “beyond” what has already been sent.

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