Former US envoy to Russia says Putin's 'crazy act' regarding Ukraine is frightening

As tensions on the Moscow-Kyiv border continue to simmer, a former US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, on Tuesday, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's "fabricated threats" towards Ukraine are frightening and quite unsettling.

Quote-tweeting a press conference of Putin at the Russian Defence Ministry, McFaul remarked, "If he is trying to scare us by acting crazy then he is succeeding (with) me."

Noting that he has attended many of the Russian President's speeches, McFaul added, "This speech is different- Putin's list of completely fabricated threats here is truly striking and scary."

McFaul's tweet came as a reaction to a presser at which Putin threatened with 'reciprocal actions' while blaming the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the US for fuelling tensions between the two former Soviet nations, adding that Russia could undertake "adequate measures" in response to the "unfriendly steps" resulting from aggressive western politics, the Associated Press reported.

Delivering his keynote speech on Russia's potential countermove against any aggression at the Donbas region, a Moscow-based journalist wrote in a roughly translated tweet, "Do they really think we’ll sit idly as they create threats against us?".

President Putin has often made several controversial remarks as tensions erupted from early October. Earlier in December, the Kremlin head had compared "the war-like situation" in the eastern Ukraine border with "genocide". Furthermore, the Russian President had also said that “Russophobia” is the first primary catalyst deepening the ongoing crisis.

Joe Biden asks Russia to 'return to diplomacy'

With Putin's repetitive aggressive remarks, Washington has warned the ex-Soviet nation of strong economic sanctions in the event of military escalation. Reiterating support for Kyiv's sovereignty and territorial integrity, US President Joe Biden also called for de-escalation of tension and "return to diplomacy" following which US NSA Jake Sullivan has told the media that the US was preparing for 'specific robust actions' just as a step ahead.

Meanwhile, in his meeting with Biden, the Russian President stressed that Moscow should not be held responsible for the tensions amid NATO's "dangerous attempts" to enter Kyiv, making it sparklingly clear that Kremlin doesn't want Ukraine to become "anti-Russian".

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

It is pertinent to mention that the tensions between Ukraine and Russia have continued since 2014 when Russia invaded and seized Crimea, the first time when a European country annexed territory from another nation since World War II.

Recently, with Moscow deploying over 90,000 troops in Ukraine's Donbas region along with Putin's hostile assertions against Kyiv, experts believe that Putin "just declared war", pretending to be provoked by Western powers, especially US, wrote Evelyn Farkas, who was the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia under Obama's administration.

(Image: AP)