US State Department Spokesperson, Ned Price, faced a heated exchange with Associated Press Reporter, Matt Lee, on Thursday, over US allegations that Russia is planning a false flag event to act as a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine.
During his address, Price made the accusation that “that Moscow might create a false flag operation” to justify invading Ukraine, and claimed “Russia has also already pre-positioned a group of operatives” to conduct such an operation.
Price elaborated that such an assertion was due to possession of a Russian intelligence propaganda video that allegedly depicts “explosions and fake corpses”, “crisis actors pretending to be mourners”, and “images of destroyed locations or military equipment”.
Matt Lee of the Associated Press, asked Price if there was any evidence that could be presented to validate his claims that Russia is planning a false flag event.
Price responded by assuring Lee that the claims are “derived from information known to the US government, intelligence information that we have declassified.”
Lee again pressed Price for where and what such declassified information was, to which Price replied “ I just delivered it”.
“No, you made a series of allegations,”, Lee responded, “That’s not evidence, Ned, that’s you saying it. It’s not evidence, I’m sorry,” he added.
“What is the evidence you have that shows the Russians are planning this” he pressed again. “I’m not saying they’re not, but you come out here and say this and expect us just to believe it without you showing a shred of evidence that it’s actually true”.
Lee also reminded Price of the false allegations made over WMD’s that justified the illegal invasion of Iraq, and the constant US reassurances that Kabul would not fall to the Taliban.