White House: Russia planning to annex more Ukrainian territory
The United States has “ample evidence” that Russia plans to annex additional Ukrainian territory, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
Kirby, speaking from the White House briefing room, said that U.S. intelligence shows Russian plans to install “illegitimate” proxy officials in Ukraine and arrange “sham referendums” on becoming part of Russia. Russia is preparing to focus its efforts on Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and all of Donetsk and Luhansk, he said.
Kirby likened the “annexation playbook” to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula, which triggered a wave of international sanctions.
Kirby said the timeline of Russia’s annexation plans is unclear but that Moscow could put them in motion later this year, timed with regional elections. Russia’s war in Ukraine is about to enter its sixth month.
The Biden administration has periodically declassified and released intelligence information about Russian plans in Ukraine, in efforts to disrupt or deter those operations. It has withheld details on the source of the intelligence so as not to compromise sources or methods.
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Source: TEST FEED1
