US sends CIA director to Moscow to warn Russia over army build-up along Ukrainian border

President Joe Biden dispatched Director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns to Moscow earlier this week to warn the Kremlin that the US is closely monitoring Russia's army buildup along the Ukrainian border and to try and figure out what is driving Russia's actions, according to a report by CNN. Burns' rare visit to Russia, where he spoke with senior Kremlin security officials directly involved in military operations, came as the US has grown increasingly concerned about Russia's erratic troop and equipment movements near Ukraine's northern border, the outlet reported citing multiple US and Ukrainian sources who briefed on the meeting. 

In recent days, the Biden administration has increased its attempts to de-escalate rising tensions between Moscow and Kyiv. After his meetings in Russia, Burns also held a telephonic conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in order to quell those tensions. Meanwhile, on Thursday, November 4, a senior State Department official was also dispatched to Kyiv to assist those efforts. Even though an earlier buildup in the spring did not result in a military invasion, the flurry of high-level diplomacy shows how seriously the Biden administration is taking the recent Russian army movements. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have worsened in recent weeks by a developing Ukrainian energy crisis, which Kyiv thinks was deliberately sparked by Moscow.

'US keeping a close eye on Russia's moves'

On Friday, November 5, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby remarked that the 'scale' and 'magnitude' of the units from Russia is 'unusual'. "We are keeping a careful eye on this, and as I have stated previously, any escalatory or hostile moves by Russia would be quite concerning to the US," he was quoted as saying by CNN. Meanwhile, Burns also raised US concerns that Russia is on the verge of using its gas exports as a bargaining chip, with Ukraine and other European countries facing energy shortages this winter. Maxar Technologies' satellite photographs show the kind of erratic Russian troop and equipment movements that US officials are concerned about. According to two senior US officials, the photographs show Russian troops, tanks, and artillery massing outside the Russian town of Yelnya, and the Biden administration is more anxious than it was in the spring that Russia may launch an invasion, reported the outlet. 

Image: AP