UN ambassador says Russia would not amass troops ‘if you don’t have intentions to use them’

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Sunday that Russia would not have amassed such a large military presence along the Ukrainian border without the intention of using it.

“We’ve seen the Russian playbook before. They are using disinformation. They’re encouraging Ukrainians not to worry about an attack, but we know that the attack is possible,” Thomas-Greenfield said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“You don’t amass 100,000 troops if you don’t have intentions to use them,” she added of the Russian troops along the border.

Her remarks come as concerns about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine mount.

Last week, President Biden announced that he would send a small number of U.S. troops to the eastern Europe in the ‘near term’

“I’ll be moving troops to Eastern Europe in the NATO countries in the near term,” Biden said on Friday to reporters at Joint Base Andrews. “Not too many.” 

While the White House seems to be preparing for the strong possibility of a Russian attack in the near future, Ukraine has disagreed that an invasion is imminent and has been critical of the U.S. State Department’s decision to encourage Americans and family members of embassy officials in Ukraine to leave the country. 

Now, the U.N. Security Council is set to have a meeting on Monday about the issue.

“We’re going to go in the room prepared to listen to them, but we’re not going to be distracted by their propaganda,”Thomas-Greenfield also said on Sunday ahead of the meeting. “And we’re going to be prepared to respond to any disinformation that they attempt to spread during this meeting.” 

“We have made clear that we’re prepared to address our concerns, Ukrainian concerns, and Russian concerns at the diplomatic table. But it cannot be done on the battlefield,” the ambassador added.