U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned Sunday that Russia’s decision to amass more than 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine signals “intensions” that an invasion is imminent.
Mrs. Thomas-Greenfield, a career diplomat who has served in Republican and Democratic administrations, told ABC’s “This Week” the troop build-up is concerning.
“The Russians have amassed 100,000 troops along the border,” she said. “They have continued to escalate, despite our efforts to try to find a diplomatic route for them and to encourage them to de-escalate.”
Mrs. Thomas-Greenfield added that Russia’s aggressive tactics were similar to those Russian President Vladimir Putin used in the lead-up to the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014.
“We’ve seen the Russian playbook before. They are using disinformation,” she said. “They’re encouraging Ukrainians not to worry about an attack, but we know that the attack is possible. You don’t amass 100,000 troops if you don’t have intentions to use them.”
Democrats and Republicans have warned that a Russian invasion is all but imminent. Some lawmakers even say the only reason why Mr. Putin has not already moved on Ukraine is that Eastern Europe’s warmer than expected weather has made the terrain between the two countries difficult to traverse.
The White House has pledged to use the weather delay to its advantage. Mrs. Thomas-Greenfield has called a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday in hopes of building international pressure against Mr. Putin.
“We’ve made clear that we’re prepared to address our concerns, Ukrainian concerns and Russian concerns at the diplomatic table, but it cannot be done on the battlefield,” she said.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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