Russia denies it plans to attack Ukraine

MOSCOW

Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov denied on Thursday that Russia plans an invasion of Ukraine.

At a briefing for the military attaches in Moscow, Gerasimov said "information about Russia's alleged impending invasion of Ukraine is a lie."

Russia carries out all military activities on its own territory, which does not require notification of other countries, he stressed.

"NATO countries pay excessive attention to the movement of troops on the territory of the Russian Federation. The redeployment of units during combat training is a routine practice for the armed forces of any state. Military activity is carried out on national territory and does not require notification.

"The information spread in the media about the alleged impending invasion of Russia into Ukraine is a lie," he said.

However, he warned that if Ukraine tries to implement a force scenario to retake Donbass, Russia will nip it.

"Any provocations of the Ukrainian authorities on the forceful settlement of the problems of Donbass will be suppressed," he promised.

Gerasimov recalled that to ease tensions Russia has proposed "a new security equation" that covers all types of offensive and defensive weapons that affect strategic stability, as well as new areas of confrontation -- cyberspace, space, and artificial intelligence.

He also alleged that "the real reason" of the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces and Open Skies treaties is "the US desire to lift restrictions on the development of weapons."

Gerasimov reminded of Russia's another proposal about counter-moratorium on the deployment of the missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, saying it remains in force.

Meanwhile, more than 95% of the Russian launchers of ground-based strategic nuclear forces are ready for combat use in case of an attack on Russia, he said.

Gerasimov added that Russia registers "a significant increase" in the number of US flights near the Russian borders.

During the flights, the US pilots work out the use of cruise missiles with a conditional missile strike, Gerasimov claimed.

Russia remains on guard and detects all the movements of the US planes and takes preventive measures to avoid incidents, he said.

On Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the US of creating dangerous incidents for civil aviation in the Black Sea, saying there were some cases "which did not end in tragedy only due to sheer luck and the quick thinking of Russian pilots and air traffic controllers."

The ministry said the US Embassy in Moscow received a note of protest listing recent incidents and warning about the dangerous consequences of such "reckless behavior."