Ukraine continues to send a much different message than what US officials are saying concerning a potential Russian invasion. On Sunday, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a diplomatic solution to the current tensions with Russia is more likely than a military conflict.
“An honest assessment of the situation suggests that the chance of finding a diplomatic solution for de-escalation is still substantially higher than the threat of further escalation,” said presidency advisor Mykhailo Podolyak.
On the same day, Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security advisor, continued to hype up the threat of a potential Russian invasion. “We are in the window. Any day now, Russia could take military action against Ukraine or it could be a couple of weeks from now, or Russia could choose to take the diplomatic path instead,” he told Fox News.
Ukraine also downplayed U.S. media reports that cited unnamed officials who claimed Russia is close to completing its preparations for an invasion and could topple Kyiv in only a few days. The U.S. officials also claimed the operation could leave up to 50,000 civilians killed or wounded. Responding to the reports, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said not to believe the “apocalyptic predictions.”
“Do not believe the apocalyptic predictions. Different capitals have different scenarios, but Ukraine is ready for any development,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter. “Today, Ukraine has a strong army, unprecedented international support, and Ukrainians’ faith in their country. The enemy should be afraid of us, not us of them.”
Since November, the U.S. has been warning that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine, and the narrative has been falling apart since Ukrainian officials started contradicting the Biden administration. The invasion warnings have come with baseless claims from the administration, including accusations that Russia is plotting a false flag to justify an invasion.
This article was originally featured at Antiwar.com and is republished with permission.
