The United States accused Russia of preparing a fake video about an attack by the Ukrainian military on Russians. The recording could be used as a pretext to invade Ukraine

The US State Department said Russia had prepared a fake video to use as a possible pretext to invade Ukraine. This was announced by the head of the press service of the State Department, Ned Price, writes Reuters.

According to The New York Times, according to intelligence, Russia is going to stage and film how the Ukrainian military is allegedly attacking Russian territory or the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine. They want to show actors portraying dead people in the recording, as well as the consequences of explosions, fake Ukrainian military equipment and Turkish drones. Who exactly is behind the creation of the video is unknown, but NYT sources say Russian intelligence is "closely involved" in it.

NYT sources say that Russia was going to use this video to accuse Ukraine of genocide of the Russian-speaking population, as well as to justify the invasion of this country. “This video, if released, could give [Russian President Vladimir] Putin the spark he needs to launch and justify military action against Ukraine,” said an unnamed White House official quoted by Reuters.

The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the statement of the American authorities, said that this is not the first time the United States has been talking about plans for Russia to invade Ukraine, but nothing followed. “This is not the first such promise. Similar has been said before as well. But nothing came of it,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

• Since the fall of 2021, Russia has been building up a troop grouping near the borders of Ukraine, which is why Western countries fear that Russia will launch an invasion (Moscow denies this). The US is threatening to impose sanctions on Russia if it invades.