U.S., Russia to face off over Ukraine at U.N. Security Council meeting

Russia’s military Monday announced that thousands of troops from southern and western military bases were returning to barracks after military exercises, as the Kremlin again accused the United States of fanning hysteria over Ukraine.

It was too early to determine whether Russia’s move to send 6000 troops of the Southern Military District and 3000 others from the Western Military District back to barracks presaged a de-escalation of military tensions near Ukraine’s border. It comes after last week’s announcement from Belarus military commanders that Russian forces would leave that country after a massive joint military exercise with Russian and Belarusian forces due to begin next week.

The Russian navy also announced that 20 warships and other naval vessels from its Black Sea fleet had returned to port after live firing exercises.

Russia’s massing of troops and equipment near Ukraine, coupled with multiple military exercises, has escalated tensions between Russia and NATO over Ukraine, with Moscow demanding an end to NATO expansion, barring Ukraine from ever joining the alliance. U.S. officials have warned that a Russian attack on Ukraine could happen at any time, calling on Russia to de-escalate. Moscow officials deny any plan to attack.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Monday accused the United States of fanning hysteria over Ukraine, and U.S. media for “unreliable, false and provocative information about the situation in Ukraine and around Ukraine.”

“We consistently criticize this line and call on Washington and its allies on the European continent to drop this line and take a calm, balanced and constructive position,” Peskov said.

Peskov said the warnings from U.S. officials were frightening Ukrainians.

“The hysterics fanned by Washington indeed leads to hysterics in Ukraine – people are practically packing go bags there,” he said “And this is the reverse side, very harmful side of the campaign which Washington is pursuing now.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior Ukraine officials have played down the threat of an invasion and warned of the damage that panic could harm Ukraine’s economy.

The UN Security Council session is seen by Washington as a forum to pressure Moscow, since Russia’s Security Council veto effectively rules out any concrete action over its military escalation. China, another of the five permanent Security Council members also has a veto, and has backed Russia’s pressure for an end to NATO’s expansion.

“Our voices are unified in calling for the Russians to explain themselves,” the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said of the United States and its allies on the 15-member U.N. security body during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

A diplomatic resolution to the crisis would need to include “Russia making the decision to pull their troops back and to come to the diplomatic table and talk with the United States, with the Ukrainians, with our NATO allies, about their security concerns,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

The latest round of talks come as key U.S. lawmakers say they could soon have a deal on sanctions meant to deter Russia from invading Ukraine and severely punish Moscow if it does — punitive measures that have found support on both sides of the political aisle. Britain will introduce legislation Monday paving the way for tougher sanctions that, according to officials, could include seizures of property in London owned by Russian oligarchs.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, expressed optimism Sunday during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” that some sanctions could be approved before any Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sen. James E. Risch (Idaho), the committee’s top Republican, said the two parties had hit a sticking point over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will carry natural gas from Russia to Germany when it is activated and is one of the more controversial sanctions targets, but he indicated that the differences were surmountable.

The Biden administration will brief all senators in a classified setting on the crisis in Ukraine on Thursday, a Senate aide said.

Meanwhile, President Biden is set to host Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, at the White House on Monday afternoon as U.S. officials work to shore up alternative energy sources for Europe, which relies on Russian natural gas exports, in the event that Moscow responds to potential sanctions by cutting off supplies.

Even as officials seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis, many are planning for the worst. Canada announced Sunday it was withdrawing all nonessential employees and remaining dependents from its embassy in Ukraine, following similar moves in the past week by the United States, Britain and Australia.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand arrived in Ukraine on Sunday. She warned that Russia would face “severe sanctions and consequences” if it doesn’t deescalate the situation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Senior officials from Britain, France, Germany and Poland are also expected to visit the country in coming days.

Russia has repeatedly denied that its massive buildup of troops and military equipment around Ukraine, along with a wave of military exercises, is a precursor to a renewed assault.

“We do not want war. We don’t need it at all. Those who are pushing toward it, especially those from the West, they are pursuing some self-serving false goals of their own,” the head of Russia’s security council, Nikolai Patrushev, said Sunday.

Russia has long taken issue with NATO granting membership to countries in the former Soviet sphere. Moscow is reviewing U.S. and NATO counterproposals on security, submitted last week in answer to Russia’s earlier demands that NATO roll back its forces and promise Ukraine would never join the alliance, whose members promise to come to one another’s aid in the event of an attack.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday the alliance has no intention of sending its troops into Ukraine if Russia invades.

“We have no plans to deploy NATO combat troops to Ukraine. … We are focusing on providing support,” Stoltenberg told the BBC. “There is a difference between being a NATO member and being a strong and highly valued partner as Ukraine.”

Still, he said there would be a “high price to pay” if Russia’s aggression escalates. “The more aggressive they are, the more NATO they will get at the borders.”

Western officials have warned that a Russian invasion, potentially one similar to its 2014 annexation of Crimea, could come at any time.

Britain announced Saturday that it would offer more forces, including jets, warships and military specialists to support NATO’s eastern flank. Biden said Friday that he planned to send some U.S. troops to Eastern Europe to bolster NATO allies, describing the number as “not too many.” The U.S. military has issued “prepare to deploy” orders to 8,500 personnel.