The Russian Embassy in Washington responded to statements by the State Department and the Pentagon, in which American departments expressed concern about the movement of Russian troops "near the Ukrainian border."

“We are perplexed by the concern of the press services of the State Department and the Pentagon about the activities of our Armed Forces on the territory of the country within the Russian borders.

Look in the mirror.

It is the American military who recklessly roam the world, leaving behind chaos, ”the diplomatic mission recalled.

On Friday, November 5, the deputy head of the press service of the US State Department, Jalina Porter, during a briefing said that Washington is concerned about reports of Russian military activity near Ukraine.

On the same day, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a briefing that the US Department of Defense is closely monitoring the activity of the Russian Armed Forces.

“I will say that we continue to observe and closely monitor Russia's unusual military activity near the Ukrainian borders, and we also continue to consult with our allies and partners on this issue,” he said.

At the same time, Kirby refused to draw parallels with the movement of Russian troops within the country during exercises and combat readiness tests, which took place in April and May 2021.

He also did not give a clear answer to the journalist's question, what exactly is such a military activity unusual, instead repeating the words of the State Department spokesman about "serious concern."

“Without going into details, I think it's a matter of scale.

The point is how many units we observe.

Any escalation or aggressive action by Russia will be cause for serious concern, ”Kirby said.

Incorrect photos 

We will remind, on November 1, the American edition Politico published a "sensational" article that Russia is allegedly pulling troops to the Ukrainian border.

As evidence, the article published satellite images taken by the American company Maxar Technologies.

The material explained that the photographs allegedly confirm the buildup of armored forces and self-propelled artillery, as well as ground troops concentrated near the city of Yelnya.

Also, the authors of the Politico material claimed that the units of the 4th Armored Division of the RF Armed Forces were allegedly moved to the regions of Bryansk and Kursk near the northern border of Ukraine.

Following Politico, materials about the alleged accumulation of Russian military forces near the Ukrainian border were published by The Washington Post and Foreign Policy magazine.

  • Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

  • globallookpress.com

  • © Lisa Ferdinando / Dod

However, for some reason, American journalists did not take into account the fact that Yelnya is a city located in the Smolensk region, and it borders not with Ukraine, but with Belarus.

Moreover, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on the same day denied the reports of the American media about the alleged build-up of the group of forces near the Russian-Ukrainian border.

"According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as of November 1, 2021, an additional transfer of Russian units, weapons and military equipment to the state border with Ukraine has not been recorded," the message said.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the reports of the American media, calling them a "fake campaign."

The diplomat drew attention to the fact that Politico, The Washington Post and Foreign Policy published their articles "as if on cue in a real panic attack."

“This was not one fake, it was a whole fresh fake campaign in the American media,” Zakharova emphasized during a weekly briefing, also recalling that Yelnya is located hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

“And they refer to the Voronezh bloggers.

Nobody contacted us.

We are sure that we did not turn to anyone from the Russian side at all, who would represent our country.

This is a classic of the genre: when such publications are being prepared, stuffing, then, naturally, the official position of the side is not requested, ”Zakharova said.

The diplomat ironically added that in the future, materials about a "tank column of T-34s near the maritime borders of Belarus" may appear in the American media.

In turn, the Kremlin called the Politico article "a poor-quality stuffing". 

“Probably, the quality of these publications is not even worth commenting on and, in general, you should not pay any attention to them, because you yourself saw that they are talking about the border with Ukraine - they show the border with Belarus,” said the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov ...

Visit from the CIA

However, the discussion of the topic of the alleged increase in the military presence of the RF Armed Forces near the borders of Ukraine continued in the American media after the disavowal of satellite images in the Politico material and refutations from Russia and Ukraine.

For example, CNN, citing anonymous sources, reported that US President Joe Biden had sent CIA Director William Burns to Moscow, allegedly to warn the Kremlin that the United States was "closely watching" the increase in the number of troops near the border with Ukraine.

The material also reported that after his visit to Moscow, Burns had a telephone conversation with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

  • "West-2021" - joint strategic exercises of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus

  • © REUTERS / Vitaly Nevar

Later, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov confirmed that the topic of Ukraine was discussed during Burns's recent visit to Moscow, but in a general context.

“Yes, this topic sounded.

But it is constantly heard in the course of contacts with American representatives who are responsible for the Russian direction, for the situation in the so-called “Greater Eurasia,” he said in an interview with Interfax.

Ryabkov also noted that special significance should not be given to what was discussed during the conversation with Burns, since Moscow had received such signals from the American side before.

At the same time, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Mark Milli, commented on the situation with the alleged increase in the Russian military presence.

Answering a question from a NBC News journalist at the Aspen Security Forum, he said that the United States is observing the movement of Russian troops in the region, but does not see aggression in it.

“We are seeing significant troop movements from the Russian side near the border with Ukraine.

As such, there is nothing overtly aggressive about them.

We've seen this before.

In April, the Russians conducted a very, very large-scale exercise involving about 50,000 troops.

What does this mean?

While we do not know this, it is too early to judge.

But we continue to monitor the situation using all our capabilities, ”said General Milli.

Commenting on the latest statements by the US authorities, the military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin stressed that Russia, as a sovereign state, is not obliged to provide explanations about the nature of the movement of troops within its borders.

“The United States wants to show that it rules the whole world, including Russia.

They want to show that they control us by making such remarks and demonstratively expressing concern.

But Russia is an independent, sovereign state and is not obliged to accept such remarks.

We will pursue our policy as we see fit, "the source said.

In turn, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Military Sciences Sergei Sudakov noted that the United States with such statements wants to shift the responsibility for the growth of tension in the region onto Russia.

“Today the United States is behaving extremely aggressively, and this is due to a number of those provocations that we saw, including in the Black Sea, where the American group is building up.

We also see how aggressively NATO is behaving towards the Russian Federation.

In order to justify this aggression, spending on the maintenance of NATO and on the containment of Russia, the United States needs constant information support, ”the political scientist said.

He explained that the presence of a constant threat has a positive effect on the filling of the American military budget.

“The Americans say:“ Look, if it weren't for us, Russia would have crossed the border of Ukraine long ago.

If not for us, then such countries as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia would have been occupied. "

By and large, an increase in the number of imaginary threats is expressed in an increase in funding, ”the analyst said.

At the same time, the creation of hotbeds of tension on the border with the enemy facilitates the conduct of various provocations, added Sudakov.

“We understand very well that NATO has long ceased to be an organization that fights for security throughout the world.

Now she has found herself opponents in the person of Russia and China, which the United States and its allies declare quite openly, ”the expert concluded.