Russia’s Spy Chief Says Ukraine Invasion Rumor Is ‘Malicious’ US Propaganda

Over the past few weeks, US officials and Western media outlets have claimed Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine based on an alleged troop build-up in the region. But Moscow has strongly denied the rumors, and Russia’s spy chief denounced the reports as “malicious” US propaganda.

“I need to reassure everyone. Nothing like this is going to happen,” Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said of a potential invasion. “Everything that is happening around this topic right now is of course malicious propaganda by the US State Department.”

Naryshkin’s comments came a day after a US State Department official said “all options” are on the table for how to respond to Russia’s alleged troop build-up. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is attending the NATO Foreign Ministerial on Tuesday and Wednesday in Riga, Latvia, where he is expected to decide with NATO on what steps to take next.

On Sunday, the Kremlin also denied Russia had any plans to invade Ukraine. “Allegations that Russia is planning to attack anyone and rebukes that it is behaving aggressively are absolutely groundless and wrong,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s Tass news agency.

Russia has maintained that any troop movements inside its own borders are not meant as a threat to any other countries. Moscow points to the increased US and NATO activity in the Black Sea and elsewhere in the region as the source of tensions.