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Top US military officials have warned that Russia will ‘plant’ a bloody path of destruction for all parties if it decides to resolve its differences with Ukraine using military force.
Chief of General Staff General Mark Milley issued a stern warning Friday during a rare Pentagon press conference with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Milley-Austin insisted the tragedy could have been avoided if Moscow had been willing to back down.
“Given the type of forces that have been mobilized, ground maneuvering forces, artillery, ballistic missiles, air forces, if all of these were to be launched together in Ukraine, the consequences would be great,” General Milley told reporters. “It would result in a significant number of casualties. And guess what this would bring to dense urban areas. It would be something terrible, which does not need to happen, ‘he said.
The U.S. warning on Friday comes as the clash between Russia and Ukraine appears to have reached a delicate point. Later Friday, President Joe Biden told reporters he would increase the US military presence to operate with NATO troops in Eastern Europe. “I will send troops to Eastern Europe and NATO countries shortly,” Biden said after returning to Washington from a visit to Pennsylvania.
Putin-Macron phone call
Senior US defense officials warned that Russia had amassed enough military power to launch a full-scale and timely invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron that the West had failed to adequately address Moscow’s security concerns.
The Kremlin says Mr Putin told Mr Macron that the West’s latest diplomatic response did not take into account Russia’s concerns about NATO enlargement, or stopping the deployment of alliance troops near the border with Russia and their departure from Eastern Europe. . In another reaction, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Russia does not want war with Ukraine, but would defend its interests against the West if that were necessary.
But the US Secretary of Defense told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday that no one had done anything to force Russia to surround Ukraine with more than 100,000 troops. “There was no provocation that made them deploy forces,” Austin told the Pentagon on Friday. He criticized Moscow for a new wave of disinformation campaigns.
“What we are seeing is that the Russian state media are currently talking about alleged activity in eastern Ukraine. “These are Russia’s tactics and they can not throw it at us.” he said. Mr. Austin also said that the display of force by Moscow is unproductive. Despite the disagreements, US and European officials say they continue to have hope that diplomacy can prevail.
A senior US administration official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said Friday’s comments by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov were a positive sign. “We welcome the message,” he said. “We have to see it backed up by swift action.” The official added that the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Monday would be “an opportunity for Russia to explain what it is doing. He said the US will go prepared to listen./VOA
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