Russia’s announced military rollback at Ukraine’s border earlier this week was a deliberate ruse, four U.S. officials have told The Washington Post.
Russia claimed earlier this week that they were scaling back the more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border but provided little evidence to prove the movements.
Western countries quickly expressed skepticism of the announcement and have since said there is no evidence any Russian troops have pulled back.
U.S. intelligence has “credible information that Russia’s claims may be part of a disinformation campaign designed to mislead,” U.S. officials and a European official told the Post.
The false hope in scaling back its military presence comes as President Biden warned of a “very high” risk of invasion and Secretary of State Antony Blinken detailed false flag operations that Russia could use to justify a war.
One of the false flag operations could be to make it appear Ukraine had killed civilians with a chemical agent, two U.S. officials told the Post.
The fears of an invasion are the backdrop of a call Biden will host with NATO leaders on Friday.
The call will include French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.