MUNICH, Germany — Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Friday that Russia’s plan to create a pretext for invading Ukraine “is already in play,” as the situation in the former Soviet republic took a more ominous turn, with Russian-backed separatists claiming they were the victims of artillery shelling and sabotage.
“Even as we are doing everything we possibly can to make clear that there’s a diplomatic path,” Blinken said, “we are deeply concerned that that is not the path that Russia has embarked on.”
America’s top diplomat and Vice President Kamala Harris are attending the Munich Security Conference — an annual meeting of Western allies and security experts — as the U.S. and European powers grapple with how to forestall a Russian invasion of its western neighbor. The Biden administration has said it will not send troops to defend Ukraine and has threatened to impose punishing economic sanctions if war breaks out. U.S. and Western officials have warned repeatedly in recent days that Russia and its allies in Ukraine will seek to utilize disinformation — lying about Ukrainian attacks or even staging them — to create a pretext to invade the country. Ukrainian officials asserted that separatists’ claims on Friday of being attacked were all bogus.
