US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Saturday, December 4, at a forum organized by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, avoided a direct answer to a question from journalists about whether Washington considers Russia's invasion of Ukraine possible. The broadcast of the speech of the American minister was conducted on the Pentagon's Twitter account.
"We remain very concerned about the situation and will continue to monitor it closely. We are committed to protecting the sovereign territory of Ukraine," he said.
According to the head of the Pentagon, the United States continues to consider various ways to help Kiev protect its territory.
Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on reports in the American press about Russia's alleged imminent invasion of Ukraine, said that based on NATO's actions in this region, the media should be concerned about aggressive actions not by the Russian Federation, but by the United States. She stressed that Russian troops on Russian territory are "the legitimate right of a sovereign state." The diplomat also noted that the United States is conducting a special operation to escalate the situation around Ukraine with shifting responsibility to Russia.
On Saturday, the American newspaper The Washington Post, citing officials in the US administration, reported that Russia in early 2022 allegedly intends to invade Ukraine, involving "up to 175 thousand military." The newspaper also referred to satellite images and reported that the Russian forces were allegedly concentrated in four points.
In addition, the publication noted that Russia is allegedly conducting an information campaign against Ukraine and NATO to accuse Ukraine of potential escalation.
