Officials in the U.S. said Russia was planning to use a fake video showing an attack by Ukrainians on Russian territory or against Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine, designed to fabricate pretext for an invasion of the country, New York Times reports.
U.S. officials would not release any direct evidence of the Russian plan or specify how they learned of it, saying to do so would compromise their sources and methods. But a recent Russian disinformation campaign lent credence to the intelligence.
The Kremlin said yesterday that the U.S. plan to send 3,000 additional troops to Eastern Europe over concerns about Ukraine was intended to “stir up tensions.” Its spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, described the U.S. deployment to Poland and Romania as a threatening act “in the vicinity of our borders.”
Turkey backs Ukraine: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, agreed to expand Ukraine’s supplies of a long-range, Turkish-made armed drone whose use in combat for the first time in Ukraine last fall infuriated Russian officials.
International relations: Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, will meet Xi Jinping, China’s leader, in Beijing today in a highly choreographed display of unity.
Related: As Russia squeezes natural gas supplies, a parade of tankers carrying liquefied natural gas is coming to Europe’s rescue.