(PresidentialInsider.com)- Following unsuccessful diplomatic discussions with the United States, Russia held a series of combat readiness inspections of its troops last Friday, in what many anticipate is the next step towards the former Soviet state invading Ukraine.
It also occurred around the same time that Ukrainian websites were taken down by a sinister and major cyberattack that may have been orchestrated by criminal Russian hacking gangs.
While Russia continues to deny any plans to invade Ukraine, the snap combat readiness inspections suggest otherwise.
In response to the cyberattack on Ukrainian government websites, which literally warned people to be afraid, the European Union’s top policy official Joseph Borrell said that the EU member states are mobilizing all of their resources to assist and protect Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have said that they have evidence Russia was behind the cyberattack, and software company Microsoft has warned the country that the attack could be far worse than originally anticipated.
Ukraine said on Friday it had uncovered clues Russia could have been behind a cyberattack that knocked out government websites in Kyiv at a time of mounting tensions between both neighbours.https://t.co/FgIb0SOisX
— News24 (@News24) January 15, 2022
On Friday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that all communication channels between Russia and the European Union have now been closed. The decision was made in response to the EU’s promise to protect Ukraine.
Another indication that Russia isn’t being entirely truthful in its claim that the Kremlin has no intention of ordering troops to enter Ukraine…
The snap readiness inspections were not kept secret by Russia, either. Footage of the inspection was released by the Russian Defense Ministry via its RIA news agency. The footage showed armored vehicles and other military equipment being loaded onto trains and a statement from the ministry said that the exercises “will make it possible to assess the readiness of the troops to carry out missions as required.”
