U.S. Calls on Moscow to De-Escalate Rising Tensions With Ukraine

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration said it has “serious concerns” over Russia’s threatening military presence on Ukraine’s border and called on “Moscow to de-escalate tensions.” 

The U.S. has “also held discussions with Russian officials about Ukraine and U.S.-Russian relations generally,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters traveling with President Joe Biden on Monday.

She added that American officials have also had “extensive interactions with our European allies and partners in recent weeks, including with Ukraine. We’ve discussed our concerns about Russian military activities and harsh rhetoric toward Ukraine.”

Psaki’s comments came a day after Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. had shared intelligence, including maps, with European allies that shows a buildup of Russian troops and artillery to prepare for a rapid, large-scale incursion into Ukraine from multiple locations if President Vladimir Putin opted to invade its East European neighbor.

The U.S. intelligence, which has been conveyed to some members of NATO, presents a scenario in which forces would cross into Ukraine from Crimea, the Russian border and via Belarus, with about 100 battalion tactical groups -- potentially around 100,000 soldiers -- deployed for what the people described as an operation in rough terrain and freezing weather, covering extensive territory and prepared for a potentially prolonged occupation. 

Two people familiar with the matter said about half that number of tactical groups was already in position and that any invasion would be backed up by air support.

Earlier: U.S. Intel Shows Russia Plans for Potential Ukraine Invasion

Putin last week denied any intention to invade but welcomed the alarm as evidence his actions had gotten the attention of the U.S. and its allies, which he accused of failing to take Russia’s “red lines” over Ukraine seriously enough.

Asked about Russia dismissing these reports about a possible invasion as inflammatory, Psaki on Monday said: “I would just note the long history of Russian propaganda.”

The U.S. and others are not saying that war is certain, or even that they know for sure Putin is serious about one. The people said it is likely he has not yet decided what to do. 

The ruble fell about 1% against the dollar Monday to the lowest level since August on fears the tensions could trigger new sanctions.

The latest fears of a possible invasion coincide with the approach of the eighth anniversary of the so-called Maidan Revolution, in which widespread protests by pro-European Ukrainians toppled President Viktor Yanukovych, a Putin ally. 

In the wake of that successful rebellion, Putin seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in March 2014.   

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