Ukrainian President Zelensky asks the West to provide evidence that Russia is preparing to attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Western countries to share intelligence that Russia is preparing to attack Kiev as they predicted.
Zelensky’s request comes amid a deepening crisis over Ukraine, with NATO forces increasing their presence in Eastern Europe, seen as an attempt to deter Russia from attacking, despite Moscow’s repeated denials that it has any such intention. On February 11, several Western news agencies, citing unnamed US officials, reported that Russia was ready to attack Ukraine on February 16.
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| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Kyivpost.com |
According to RT (Russia), speaking at a press conference on February 12, Mr. Zelensky said that the Ukrainian side understood “the risks that exist”, but emphasized that there was “too much information” in the media about “a full-scale war coming from Russia”.
“If you or anyone else has information about the 100% Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on (February 16), please provide us with this information. We receive information from our intelligence every day. We are also very grateful to the intelligence agencies of other countries,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky added that Ukraine would be prepared for all “unexpected” situations and would have to rely on itself, its government agencies and intelligence. “We are not afraid of anyone, we are not panicking, everything is under control,” Zelensky added, stressing that diplomacy was the only way to de-escalate.
Mr Zelensky's statement drew a reaction from Moscow. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asked: "Have you ever seen anything like this?" Noting that the US had "declared every day for the past two months that Russia was about to attack Ukraine", Ms Zakharova said the Ukrainian president had also said all along that they had no such information and "now they are also asking the relevant parties to share data".
Zakharova added that no one seems to have such evidence (about Russia preparing to attack Ukraine) other than some media outlets and anonymous US sources. “For two months, they have been mocking the Ukrainian people, while carrying out another global campaign of provocation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, several countries have begun evacuating diplomatic staff from their embassies in Kiev. Russia has also announced its intention to withdraw some diplomats due to concerns about "provocations".
