US Secretary Of State Worried About Moscow's Invasion Of Ukraine In Front Of The UN, Russia: We've Clarified And Explained It

The 49th Army Unit of the Russian Southern Military District arrives at the base after attending an exercise near the Ukrainian border (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense)

JAKARTA - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken described at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday how Washington believes Russia could seek to attack Ukraine, warning Moscow is preparing to attack its neighbor in the "days to come."

As other US officials have done over the past two weeks, Secretary Blinken accused Russia of planning to create pretexts to attack Ukraine that could include "fake, even real, attacks using chemical weapons," and said: "Russia may portray these events as ethnic cleansing or genocide."

Foreign Minister Blinken encouraged Moscow to announce without qualification, pretext or deflection, that it would not attack Ukraine.

"Speak clearly. State it clearly to the world, and then show it by sending your troops, your tanks, planes back to their barracks and hangars and sending your diplomats to the negotiating table," he said.

Foreign Minister Blinken appeared at the United Nations at a 15-member council meeting on the Minsk Agreement, which aims to end an 8-year conflict between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists in the country's east.

He said US information indicated that Russian forces were "preparing to launch an attack on Ukraine in the coming days" and had identified key targets, including the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. He added that he had asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to meet in Europe next week.

"I am here today not to start a war, but to prevent it," he said.

In response, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin rejected Foreign Minister Blinken's statement, calling it a 'regrettable' and 'dangerous' move that further fueled tensions. He said Russian troops remained on Russian territory and some units had returned to their bases after the exercise.

Tensions between Moscow and Western capitals have escalated after weeks of US accusations that Russia had deployed up to 150.000 troops near the Ukrainian border to carry out the invasion. Moscow accuses the West of being hysterical.

The crisis, however, has prompted the US-led NATO alliance to shore up its presence in member states closer to Russia or Ukraine. Ukraine is not a member of NATO and Russia does not want it allowed to join.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Vershinin has appealed to lawmakers not to turn the meeting into a 'circus', making baseless accusations that Russia is suspected of attacking Ukraine.

"I think we've speculated enough about it. We've clarified everything and explained everything," said Vershinin

Britain's minister for Europe and North America, James Cleverly, told the Security Council: "Russia has deployed the necessary troops to attack Ukraine, and now they are ready for action."

Separately, a senior US official said earlier, Russia could use the Security Council meeting as part of efforts to build a pretext for a potential invasion after Russia shared documents containing allegations of war crimes it had committed in southeastern Ukraine.

The Russian document, circulated to council members and seen by Reuters, accuses Ukrainian authorities of "exterminating the civilian population" in eastern Ukraine. US officials dismissed Russia's claims as "grossly wrong."

To note, the UN Security Council has met dozens of times to discuss the Ukraine crisis since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014. The UN Security Council cannot take any action, as Russia has veto power along with France, Britain, China, and the United States.