MOSCOW – Russia accuses the West of planning provocations Ukraine and blamed Moscow for plans for aggressive military action in its neighbor.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that claims by Kiev and the West about an imminent Russian attack on Ukraine were a cover for their own large-scale provocations, including military ones.

“They can have very tragic consequences for regional and global security,” Zakharova said AP, Thursday (20.1.2022).

He referred to arms shipments to Ukraine by military transport planes English in the last few days. Zakharova claims that Ukraine considers Western military aid as the holder of full authority for military operations in Donbas.

Also read: Britain is sending anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to counter Russia

Located in eastern Ukraine, Donbass is under the control of pro-Russian separatists who have been fighting Ukrainian forces for nearly eight years, a conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 14,000 people.

This allegation appears to be in response to media allegations United States of America (US) who said Russia was planning a false flag operation as a pretext for an attack on Ukraine. Earlier, CNN quoted a US official as reporting that Russia would carry out sabotage against its own proxies.

Also read: Invasion of Ukraine, US says Russia is preparing fake flag operation

Ukraine said earlier this week that it had received a shipment of anti-tank missiles from Britain. Ukraine has rejected Moscow’s claims that it is planning an offensive to regain control of separatist-held territory in the country’s eastern industrial heartland.