Over the last few weeks, the world has been holding its breath while expecting Russia to invade Ukraine. Foreign nationals have been invited by their embassies to leave Ukraine. US intelligence said that the invasion could happen any day. Other sources have mentioned the 16th of February as the day of the invasion.
US intelligence and Western mainstream media have warned about an imminent invasion at least since last October. And while Ukraine initially dismissed these rumours as Russian disinformation, it later joined the chorus of alarm and incessant warnings.
However, some in Ukraine have raised some skepticism. A few days ago Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s pro-Western and pro-NATO foreign minister, said that the threat of an invasion was not imminent. Last week President Zelensky asked the US to share proof of intelligence about the coming invasion. US media expressed disappointment at the growing gulf between the US, that sees an invasion as imminent, and Ukraine, that has uncharacteristically invited the world to more sobriety and avoid panicking.
Yegor Chernev, a Ukrainian MP for the People’s Servant, president Zelensky’s party, and leader of delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly today commented that “the US is conducting against Russia one of the biggest special operation in history”.
In a lengthy Facebook post Mr Chernev wrote that the special operation launched by the USA and supported by the UK pursues the following goals,
- Mobilisation of the NATO countries and restoration of the unity of the Alliance and the West as a whole
- Demonization of the Russian Federation in the world and the creation of a permanent toxic image
- Inflicting as much damage as possible to the Russian economy without a war
- Formenting anti-war sentiments in Russia itself
- Demoralization of the Russian military elite through public disclosure of their secret materials.
“The United States wants to force Putin to stop playing hybrid wars and make a final choice: either dare to launch a large-scale invasion, or finally retreat and lock himself inside his own country”, the Ukrainian MP added.
“Like any special operation, this one carries risks. For Ukraine, first of all, it means significant economic losses due to the outflow of investors and panic. But this is a war, and it is not without losses. At the same time, these losses are much smaller than we could have suffered in the event of a large-scale military invasion. And we can reduce these losses ourselves by stopping the panic”.
The conclusion strikes a very different note: “Do not panic even if Putin tries to escape the American trap and still order an invasion. Our army is ready to arrange a hellish reception for the Russians, and the Western response will quickly bury the Russian economy. And then Russia can expect disintegration, and we will have peace for many decades for peaceful construction and development”.
Is the US trying to force Russia to invade Ukraine? This is the terrifying suspicion that comes to the mind of many. Even in Ukraine.
EAST AND WEST 