Russia has accused the west of building up forces on its borders as well as those of Belarus in remarks that appeared tailored to mirror recent US warnings about Moscow’s aggressive positioning towards Ukraine.
The Kremlin, as well as Russian intelligence, security, and diplomatic officials, have all gone on the offensive in the past 48 hours after Vladimir Putin publicly instructed his diplomats that tensions should be maintained with the west as a form of aggressive deterrence.
US and Ukrainian officials have said that Russia has amassed nearly 100,000 troops in the border regions near Ukraine and warned it was seeking a pretext in order to justify a major intervention in the country.
In a public statement on Monday, Russia’s foreign intelligence service announced that the situation was similar to that with Georgia in 2008, where Russia fought a short war against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili. » | Andrew Roth in Moscow | Monday, November 22, 2021
