New intelligence indicates Russia is plotting a “false flag operation” that would create a pretext for invading Ukraine , U.S. officials said Friday.
“Without getting …
New intelligence indicates Russia is plotting a “false flag operation” that would create a pretext for invading Ukraine, U.S. officials said Friday. “Without getting into too much detail, we do have information that indicates that Russia is already working actively to create a pretext for a potential invasion, for a move on Ukraine. In fact, we have information that they’ve pre positioned a group of operatives, to conduct what we call a false flag operation, an operation designed to look like an attack on them or their people, or Russian speaking people in Ukraine, as an excuse to go in,” John Kirby, the Pentagon’s spokesman, told reporters in Washington. Additionally, there are indications that Russian actors are starting to fabricate provocations in state and social media, he added. Kirby declined to share the provenance of the intelligence but called it “very credible.” “And again, we’ve seen this kind of thing before out of Russia. When there isn’t an actual crisis to suit their needs, they’ll make one up, and so we’re watching for that,” he said. Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine in recent months and Ukrainian officials have said they fear an attack is imminent.
