Russia accused the West of 'whipping up tensions' and bringing 'pure Nazis' to power in Kyiv

Russia accused the West on Monday of “whipping up tensions” over Ukraine and said the U.S. had brought “pure Nazis” to power in Kyiv as the U.N. Security Council held a fiery debate on Moscow’s troop buildup near its southern neighbor.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield shot back that the Kremlin’s militarization of its borders was “the largest mobilization” in Europe in decades, adding that there has been a spike in cyberattacks and Russian disinformation campaigns, ABC News reported.

“And they are attempting, without any factual basis, to paint Ukraine and Western countries as the aggressors to fabricate a pretext for attack,” she said.

The harsh exchanges at the U.N. came as Moscow lost an attempt to block the meeting and was the first open session where all protagonists in the Ukraine crisis spoke publicly.

Although renewed diplomatic efforts are expected this week from both Russia and the West, so far talks have failed to ease tensions in the crisis. Although Russia has continued to deny that it is preparing for an invasion, it has mobilized nearly 130,000  troops and has conducted military exercises which have rattled both Washington and its NATO partners.  

But as war looms ever closer, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the Biden administration of “whipping up tensions and rhetoric and provoking escalation.”

“You are almost pulling for this,” the Kremlin’s top diplomat told Thomas-Greenfield. “You want it to happen. You’re waiting for it to happen, as if you want to make your words become a reality.”

Nebenzia also blamed the U.S. for creating the antagonism that exists between Ukraine and Russia by orchestrating the 2014 ousting of a Kremlin-friendly president in Kyiv, saying it brought to power “nationalists, radicals, Russophobes and pure Nazis.”

“If they hadn’t done this, then we to date would be living in a spirit of good neighborly relations and mutual cooperation,” Nebenzia said. “However, some in the West just don’t clearly like this positive scenario. What’s happening today is yet another attempt to drive a wedge between Russia and Ukraine.”

Nebenzia left the council chamber as the Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya started to speak. “How long Russia will pressure, will pursue a clear attempt to push Ukraine and its partners into a Kafka trap?” Kyslytsva asked.

The vote on holding an open meeting passed 10-2, with Russia and China opposed, and India, Gabon and Kenya abstaining. A total of 9 votes were needed in order for the motion to pass.

After the meeting, U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that the meeting was “a critical step in rallying the world to speak out in one voice” to reject the use of force, seek military de-escalation, support diplomacy and demand accountability from every member “to refrain from military aggression against its neighbors.” 

Biden warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call Thursday that there is a “distinct possibility” Russia could begin an incursion in February, but the Ukrainian leader sought to play down the war fears, saying Western alarm over an imminent invasion has prompted many investors in the country’s financial markets to cash out.

Zelenskyy said Friday that “we aren’t seeing any escalation bigger than before,” and charged that the Russian buildup could be an attempt by Moscow to exert “psychological pressure” and sow panic.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that “hysteria promoted by Washington triggers hysteria in Ukraine, where people are almost starting to pack their bags for the front line.”