U.S. says Russia preparing ‘false flag’ operation as pretext to invade Ukraine
LA TimesReverting to a familiar “playbook,” Russia is plotting a pretext to invade Ukraine, a “false flag” operation that would justify its actions despite a week of intense U.S.-Russia negotiations that apparently failed to move Moscow away from a scheme of regional aggression, U.S. officials said Friday. Citing fresh U.S. intelligence reports, Psaki said Russia has already dispatched operatives trained in urban warfare who could use explosives to carry out acts of sabotage against Russia’s proxy forces — blaming the acts on Ukraine — if Russian President Vladimir Putin decides he wants to move forward with an invasion. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby described the intelligence as “very credible.” The intelligence findings suggested that a military invasion could begin between now and mid-February, experts said, in part with a view toward a deepening winter that freezes the muddy plains between the two countries and makes it easier for Russia to move heavy equipment into Ukraine. “He wouldn’t threaten it if he wasn’t prepared to do something and to deliver.” Russia said, in the talks this week, that it did not intend to invade Ukraine.