{"id":70397,"date":"2021-11-12T11:27:19","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T11:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/11\/12\/moscow-wont-invade-ukraine-unless-provoked-russian-envoy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:53:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:53:49","slug":"moscow-wont-invade-ukraine-unless-provoked-russian-envoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/11\/12\/moscow-wont-invade-ukraine-unless-provoked-russian-envoy\/","title":{"rendered":"Moscow won\u2019t invade Ukraine \u2014 unless provoked: Russian envoy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UNITED NATIONS (AP) \u2014 Russia\u2019s deputy U.N. ambassador said Thursday that Moscow will never invade Ukraine unless it is first provoked by its neighbor or someone else, then cited what he called many threats from Ukraine<\/a> and provocative actions by U.S. warships in the Black Sea<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dmitry Polyansky was responding to a question about the buildup of troops along Russia\u2019s frontier with Ukraine, which has led to stepped up U.S. pressure and an assurance Wednesday from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Ukrainian foreign minister that the American commitment to Ukraine\u2019s security and territorial integrity is \u201cironclad\u201d and will not change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polyansky was asked if Russia planned to invade Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNever planned, never did, and never going to do it unless we\u2019re provoked by Ukraine, or by somebody else\u201d and Russia\u2019s national sovereignty is threatened, he replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a lot of threats coming from Ukraine,\u201d Polyansky quickly added. \u201cAnd don\u2019t forget that the American warships around the Black Sea acting very close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, every day is a very difficult day to avoid direct clash in the Black Sea. We warned our American colleagues that this is a real provocation,\u201d he told reporters at U.N. headquarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blinken said the U.S. did not know Russia\u2019s intentions but said Moscow\u2019s \u201cplaybook\u201d has been in the past to invent provocations along its border to justify military intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have clarity into Moscow\u2019s intentions, but we do know its playbook,\u201d he said. \u201cIf there are any provocations that we\u2019re seeing, they\u2019re coming from Russia,\u201d and any Russian escalation along the border would be viewed with \u201cgrave concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t