Kremlin accuses US of stoking ‘hysteria’ over Ukraine, as UN Security Council meets

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Washington and US outlets have played up fears of a Russian invasion.

“To our dismay, American media have lately been publishing a very large amount of unverified, distorted and deliberately deceitful information about what’s happening in Ukraine and around it,” Peskov said Monday.

Zelensky, however, restated his position that the threat from Russia remains “dangerous but ambiguous,” and it is not certain that an attack will take place, the official said.

US officials: Indications Russia has moved blood supplies to Ukraine border

On Monday, Peskov called on the US and its European allies “to take a more constructive approach,” and said the recent threat of sanctions from the United Kingdom is “extremely worrying.”

“It’s cause for serious concern for international financial structures and businesses,” Peskov said. “It’s an open attack on business.”

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said this weekend that the country would introduce new legislation broadening sanctions and targeting specific individuals close to the Kremlin if Russia invades Ukraine.

The Biden administration has also identified several elite Russian government officials and business leaders that the US intends to sanction if Russia invades Ukraine, a senior administration official told CNN.

“In general, the Anglo-Saxons are widely escalating tensions on the European continent,” Peskov said.

Ukrainian soldiers pictured during an exercise on January 28.

Diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation are ongoing. Last week both the US and NATO presented Moscow with written responses aimed at deterring a Russian incursion of Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that the letters failed to address Moscow’s concerns over the eastward expansion of the military alliance.

On Monday, a senior US State Department official said that Russia responded in writing to the US’ written response.

Moscow’s response comes ahead of a planned phone conversation between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will fly to Ukraine for talks, where he will announce £88 million (approximately $118 million) in new funding, according to a Downing Street statement.

United Nations Security Council meets

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met to discuss the crisis on Monday, and US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia’s actions could have widespread consequences.

“Russia’s aggression today not only threatens Ukraine. It not only threatens Europe. It threatens the international order this body is charged with upholding,” she said. “It is crucial that this Council address the risks that their aggressive and destabilizing behavior poses across the globe.”

Thomas-Greenfield emphasized the impact on those who are already suffering due to Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine, which has already killed more than 14,000 Ukrainians, she said.

“If Russia further invades Ukraine, none of us will be able to say we didn’t see it coming. And the consequences will be horrific, which is why this meeting is so important today,” she added.

“Nearly 3 million Ukrainians — half of whom are elderly people and children — need food, shelter, and life-saving assistance….