Washington: The United States government had claimed that Russia may release a "fabricated" video showing an attack on Russian territory with paid actors and dead bodies to mimic an act of Ukrainian aggression and prompt an invasion on its neighbour.
The revelation of these alleged plans was made by U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer to MSNBC. However, Russia has dismissed the allegations, as it did those of US claims that it would invade Ukraine.
Russia, which seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backs separatists in the east of the country, is demanding security guarantees including a promise NATO will never admit Kyiv as it has amassed some 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border.
It has also deployed some 30,000 troops in a joint military exercise with neighbouring Belarus, with Spetsnaz special operations forces, SU-35 fighter jets, S-400 air defence systems and nuclear-capable Iskander missiles according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
In response, the US has sent nearly 3000 soldiers to Poland and Romania, with 1700 service members, mainly from the 82nd Airborne Division, being deployed to Poland, while 300 others will move to Germany. Moscow has condemned the actions, blaming America for increasing tensions and not working to defuse them as it claims to be doing weeks of fruitless dialogue and conversations between world leaders have borne little results, even as China has solidified its supportive stance towards Russia at a meeting between their respective foreign ministers in Beijing on Thursday.
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said he and Polish President Andrzej Duda had discussed the possibility of a three-way meeting along with Germany's Olaf Scholz in coming days on the situation in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for Russia to return to a path of "peace and dialogue" or face sanctions as the EU worked on a joint response to a letter many of its members received from Russia seeking security guarantees.
US President Joe Biden had said that the possibility of "personal sanctions" against Vladimir Putin was not out of the question at a press conference last month, highlighting US plans to go ahead with severe sanctions. The US and European nations have also been negotiating with other energy-rich nations like Qatar in order to prepare for Russian withdrawal of oil or gas resources.