Lavrov: US Statement Russia Allegedly Preparing Video Provocation to 'Attack' Ukraine is Nonsense

During a press briefing on Thursday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price claimed that Russia was plotting "to stage fabricated attacks by Ukrainian military...as a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has commented on US claims about Russia allegedly preparing a video provocation to attack Ukraine, describing them as "nonsense".

"It is not for me to guess why our Western colleagues can be surprised in modern conditions. They are surprised with and without reason, mostly without reason, or at reasons that they themselves invent. I read ... some statements by the state department that Russia is preparing fake videos showing an alleged attack by Ukrainian troops on Donbass. Well, I do not know, the delusional nature of this kind of fabrication, and there are more and more of them every day, is obvious to any more or less experienced political scientist."

Sergey Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister

This comes after US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a briefing on Thursday that Washington has obtained intelligence data showing that Russia was "planning to stage fabricated attacks by Ukrainian military or intelligence forces as a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine".

“One possible option the Russians are considering, and which we made public today, involves the production of a propaganda video, a video with graphic scenes of false explosions, depicting corpses, crisis actors pretending to be mourners, and images of destroyed locations or military equipment - entirely fabricated by Russian intelligence," Price told reporters.

Although he was pressed by Associated Press reporter Matt Lee to provide evidence for his claims, Price failed to do so and said he was sorry that Lee was "doubting the information that is in possession of the US government".

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the West has been persistently promoting a myth about Russia's alleged plans to invade Ukraine, which goes against common sense and does not reflect the real situation.

Tensions between Russia, NATO and the US over Ukraine have been on the rise since late 2021, when the West started speculating about Moscow's plans to "invade" Ukraine, something Russia has vehemently denied. The Kremlin has repeatedly stressed that Russia has the right to move its army wherever it wants within its borders and this should not be a matter of concern for anyone. Moscow also stressed that NATO's increased military activity close to Russian borders has been posing a threat to its national security.