British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace on Saturday, February 12, in an interview with The Times, stated that a Russian “invasion” of Ukraine was a “highly likely” scenario.
“It is worrying that, despite the intensification of diplomatic efforts, the increase in the military presence [РФ на границе с Украиной] continued. It did not stop, but continued, ”said the head of the British defense department.
Wallace also opined that the so-called Russian “invasion” of Ukraine could begin “at any moment.”
Earlier, on February 11, Wallace arrived on an official visit to Moscow for talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The head of the Russian Ministry of Defense, at a meeting with his British counterpart, said that the situation on the European continent is becoming more and more tense and not Russia is to blame for this. According to him, Western countries can contribute to reducing tensions in Europe, for this they must stop the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
In turn, the head of the British Ministry of Defense indicated that both sides of the negotiations pointed to the importance of complying with the Minsk agreements in order to move towards de-escalation. At the same time, he added that a hypothetical “Russian invasion” of Ukraine would have tragic consequences for “Ukrainians, Russians and European security.”
On February 11, Great Britain began to take out embassy employees from Kiev. As the British Foreign Office noted, since January 2022, “the buildup of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine has increased the threat of military action.” In this regard, it was decided to further evacuate the embassy staff from the Ukrainian capital.
On February 12, British flags were removed from the country’s embassy in Kiev. According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, such a step by the United Kingdom is part of “informational and political provocative activities.” She added that in the West they do not directly declare the export of diplomats, but spread rumors that Russia evacuated the embassy from Kiev in the process of preparing the “invasion”, but the Russian diplomatic mission in Kiev continues to work.
In the United States and European countries, they have recently expressed concern about the alleged increase in Russia’s “aggressive actions” against Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone. As the Russian side emphasized, such accusations are used as a pretext to deploy as much NATO military equipment as possible near the borders of the Russian Federation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out on January 24 that the actions of the United States and NATO are leading to an escalation of tension in Ukraine. He stressed that it “is carried out through informational and concrete actions taken by the United States and NATO.” In his opinion, there are a lot of rumors and unreliable data about the situation in Ukraine and the allegedly planned attack by Russia, which are “information hysteria”.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
