US officials within the Biden administration believe Russia is actively planning “false-flag operations” that would ultimately justify a Moscow-led invasion of Ukraine in the weeks ahead.
“The allegations, following similar claims by the government in Kyiv, come after the failure of a week of diplomacy to defuse the crisis provoked by Russia’s massing of more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders. Moscow has persistently portrayed the crisis as a military threat from Ukraine against Russia, without providing any evidence,” reports the Guardian.
“Russia is laying the groundwork to have the option of fabricating a pretext for invasion, including through sabotage activities and information operations, by accusing Ukraine of preparing an imminent attack against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine,” one US official said.
“We have information that indicates Russia has already prepositioned a group of operatives to conduct a false-flag operation in eastern Ukraine... Russian influence actors already starting to fabricate Ukrainian provocations in state and social media,” added the Biden administration insider.
“The Russian military plans to begin these activities several weeks before a military invasion, which could begin between mid-January and mid-February,” they concluded.
Read the full report here.
