From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 17, 2022
US envoy to UN: Russia moving toward ‘imminent invasion’
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The US envoy to the United Nations warns that evidence on the ground suggests “Russia is moving toward an imminent invasion” of Ukraine as Washington disputes Moscow’s claims of a troop pullback.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield says she asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to attend a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine today “to signal our intense commitment to diplomacy.”
At the same time, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warns that Russia could be looking to create a pretext for invasion after “troubling” reports of shelling on Ukraine’s frontline with Moscow-backed separatists.
“We’ve said for some time that the Russians might do something like this in order to justify a military conflict. So we’ll be watching this very closely,” Austin tells journalists after a meeting with NATO defense ministers.
The Times of Israel Community.