The United States has been convincing Europe of the danger of a Russian invasion of Ukraine for weeks

 

The United States has spent weeks of diplomatic efforts backed by intelligence to persuade its European partners to prepare for an alleged Russian invasion of Ukraine, although some Old Continent countries have been skeptical of such a threat, according to The Financial Times. , citing sources.

According to the publication, US efforts were aimed at convincing skeptical countries, including Germany, that Russia "could soon send troops to Ukraine."

  According to the editorial board, the United States has distributed materials about the "alleged intentions of the Kremlin" to the 29 NATO allies in bilateral and collective meetings and through EU diplomatic channels. The transmission of classified information began in November, ahead of a meeting of NATO ministers at which, among other things, the topic of Ukraine was widely discussed.

  According to four officials, the uncharacteristic level of intelligence dissemination is due to the reluctance of some allies in Europe to trust US reports of preparations for a Russian invasion. "Many allies were not sure that something serious was happening. We were surprised by this gap [in intelligence]. How and why did the United States see what we did not see? ”The publication quoted a European official as saying on condition of anonymity.

  Some EU and NATO countries, which are calling for dialogue rather than confrontation with Moscow, have expressed the view that Russia will not take steps towards Ukraine "unless provoked". According to the publication, in the end the information of the American intelligence has changed their position.