State Dept: Proof of Russian false flag plot too ‘sensitive’ for public release

A US State Department official Thursday refused to provide evidence to support the claim made by the US and the UK that Russia plans a false flag event in Ukraine to create a pretext for invasion.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price, at a regular press briefing, was pressed by AP reporter Matt Lee for the evidence regarding the Biden administration’s claim that Russia intended to release a propaganda video showing Ukrainian, and possibly Russian, casualties in order to justify war with Ukraine.

Lee called on Price to provide evidence to back up the allegation, saying it could be in "Alex Jones territory." Price quipped back, asking whether Lee had trust issues with the US government's intelligence and more trust in "Russian propaganda".

Price then said, "The production of this propaganda video is one of a number of options that the Russian government is developing as a fake pretext to initiate and potentially justify military aggression against Ukraine."

"Well, that's quite a mouthful there," Lee said. "You've made an allegation that they might do that. Have they actually done it?"

Price responded, "What we know, Matt, is what ... I have just said. That they have engaged in this activity."

"What activity?" Lee said, louder, adding "You just come out and say this and expect us just to believe it without you showing a shred of evidence that it's actually true."

Price replied, "You've been doing this for a long time, Matt. You know when we make information public we do so in a way that protects sensitive sources and methods. You also know we do so - we declassify information - only when we're confident in that information."

Lee replied as Price tried to talk over him, "That's right. And I remember the WMDs in Iraq. And I remember that Kabul was not gonna fall. I remember a lot of things. So where is the declassified information, other than you coming out here and saying it?"

"Matt, I'm sorry you don't like the format," Price responded, to which Lee replied in an agitated voice "It isn't the format - it's the content!"

Price answered, "I'm sorry that you don't like the content. I'm sorry that you are doubting the information that is in the possession of the US government. What I'm telling you is that this is information that is available to us, we are making it available to you, for a couple of reasons - one, to attempt to deter the Russians from going ahead with this activity; two, in the event we are not able to do that, in the event the Russians do go ahead with this, to make it clear as day, to lay bare, the fact that this has always been an attempt on the part of the Russian Federation to fabricate a pretext."

Lee repeated, "Yeah, but you don't have any evidence to back up what you're saying."

Price then claimed that the purpose of their release of the alleged plot was "deterrence" to prevent Russia from carrying it out, adding that, "if the Russians don't forward with this, that is not, ipso facto, an indication that they never had plans to do so," to which Lee responded, laughing, "But then it's unprovable. My God, what is the evidence that you have that the Russians are even planning this?"

"I'm not buying into Russian propaganda, but I'm also not going to buy into...you're saying 'the proof is that I just said it,'" he added

"Let me just appeal to you," he concluded, "on behalf of all of us, and the American people, and the people of the world, and the Russian people, and the Ukrainian people, one piece of evidence that the Russians are planning to use crisis actors to stage a false mass casualty event to be used as a pretext...just one piece - okay? Not you, or (Pentagon spokesperson John) Kirby, or Jen (Psaki, White House spokesperson) or Jon Finer (Deputy National Security Advisor) or Jake (Sullivan, National Security Advisor) saying 'this is what is so' and then you turning around and saying 'well, because we said it, it's a fact.' One piece of verifiable evidence."

WATCH: Heated exchange between @APDiploWriter Matt Lee and @StateDeptSpox Ned Price on declassified information. pic.twitter.com/8TFJdSW4M6

— CSPAN (@cspan) February 3, 2022

Price responded as follows: "There are 100,000 Russian troops in Ukraine right now, approaching Ukraine's borders, close to the borders. There are thousands of Russian troops, with the potential for some 30,000 Russian troops to stream into Belarus. All of these troops are positioned - could be positioned, if Putin makes that decision - to engage on Ukraine in a coordinated assault. We also know that the Russians have resorted to these tactics in the past, have developed a remarkably similar playbook in 2014, amassed troops, engaged - it is a historical fact - engaged in disinformation and propaganda to paint Ukraine as the aggressor, fabricated a pretext, for an invasion, and went in. So...it seems to me that it should not be outlandish that the Russians may be engaging in these tactics again."

Lee rejected this, again pointing out that this was not evidence. "If you can't provide any evidence, other than 'I said so, and so it's a fact' - that's a problem."

As we had reported earlier, after the US made the accusation that Russia was planning to create a pretext to invade Ukraine, an independent analyst in the US pointed out that it is Washington, not Moscow, that has a long record of carrying out so-called "false flag" operations to launch wars.

New York-based analyst and political commentator Don DeBar pointed out the long US record of running so-called "false flag" operations to enable invasion and war. He told PressTV "There is no ambiguity there. This is what Washington does – has done for more than a century - when they need an excuse to go to war. Whether the Gulf of Tonkin incident, the incubator babies and then the invisible WMDs in Iraq, the phony claims of Libyan airplanes strafing protesters, all the way back to the sinking of the Maine in Cuba...the US government lies, kills and misdirects in order to provide what is, in essence, political public relations cover for war."

White House: Republican call for deconfliction in Ukraine is 'parroting' of Russian propaganda

The White House has accused Republican Senator Josh Hawley and other conservative GOP lawmakers of "parroting Russian talking points" amid heightened tensions between Russia and the US.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has said that, among other things, Washington is seeking a confrontation with Moscow as a pretext to impose more sanctions on Russia, a particular focus since the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Europe.

“Ukraine is just an instrument of achieving this goal. It can be done in different ways, such as pulling us into some armed conflict and then forcing their allies in Europe to enact those harsh sanctions against us that are being discussed today in the United States,” he said.

According to a Washington Post report earlier in the week, and subsequent statements from the above-named spokespersons for the Pentagon, the White House and the State Department, the operation was designed by Russian security services and in the advanced stages of preparation. US officials said that Russia would falsely pin the attack, which could involve actual casualties not only in eastern Ukraine but also in Russia, on Ukrainian forces.

The alleged operation would involve broadcasting images of civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine to create a pretext for invasion, the officials said, adding “this is a specific operation designed to create a potential pretext.”

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