A TOP UKRAINIAN defence official said today that the Russian forces near its borders do not appear to be ready to launch an all-out assault.
Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said the force, estimated at more than 100,000 soldiers backed up by heavy artillery and tanks, were being used primarily “for political pressure and blackmail” at this stage.
US officials in Washington have said Russia appeared to have 70% of the troops and equipment needed to launch a mass invasion of Ukraine.
Malyar told reporters in the government-held eastern frontline town of Avdiivka that the threat of a Russian attack was real.
But she stressed that talk of an imminent war was premature.
“We see a concentration of military personnel and equipment. But as of today, they are not forming assault groups,” Malyar said.
“We also do not see the formation of the infrastructure needed for an immediate escalation,” she said.
However, “this does not mean that there is not a threat”.
European leaders have started to voice some hope that earlier fears of a full-scale war breaking out in the coming days or week were fading thanks to an intense diplomatic push.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had secured a pledge from Russia’s Vladimir Putin during marathon talks in Moscow this week that the Kremlin “would not be the source of an escalation”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said today that the flurry of diplomatic efforts marked “progress”.
Malyar said Russia’s ultimate goal was not to seize Ukraine but to destabilise the West.
“Putting Ukraine under its full control is not Russia’s final objective,” she said.
“Its strategic objective is to ruin the political and security alliances of Western countries.”
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss arrived in Moscow today to deliver a message that Russia must choose a peaceful path in Ukraine or face “massive consequences” from Western sanctions.
The first such visit by a UK foreign minister in more than four years, Truss is to meet her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday to urge Moscow to abide by its international commitments and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“The UK is determined to stand up for freedom and democracy in Ukraine,” Truss said in a statement as she departed on the two-day trip.
“I’m visiting Moscow to urge Russia to pursue a diplomatic solution and make clear that another Russian invasion of a sovereign state would bring massive consequences for all involved,” she said.
“Russia has a choice here. We strongly encourage them to engage, de-escalate and choose the path of diplomacy.”
Russia denies any plans to invade but is demanding that Ukraine never be allowed to join NATO, and a series of other security guarantees against the US-led military alliance’s expansion in the ex-Soviet bloc.
In a statement this evening, the Russian foreign ministry warned that British officials should change their rhetoric.
“The British side must be clearly aware that without a clear change in the tone of the speeches of representatives of the British leadership, productive interaction is impossible either in solving bilateral problems or in settling international problems,” the ministry said.
“Relations between our countries should be based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, without artificial restrictions hindering business.”
Moscow said that trade and economic ties remained a “stabilising” factor in bilateral ties.
After a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Lavrov said Tuesday that Washington was ready to discuss Moscow’s security concerns.
Britain, long accused of turning a blind eye to flows of illicit money through London from Russia and elsewhere, said last month it was tightening its legislation to impose tougher sanctions on President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
The sanctions would mean “those in and around the Kremlin will have nowhere to hide” if Russia invades Ukraine, Truss said at the time, warning the package would form part of a coordinated US-led response.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv last week in a show of solidarity, after Britain said it was also ready to offer NATO a “major” deployment of troops, weapons, warships and jets in eastern Europe.
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