NEW YORK, January 16. /TASS/. Russia has no relation to cyber attacks on Ukrainian governmental websites, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN.
"We’ve read those reports, as well as media. We have nothing to do with it, and Russia has nothing to do with these cyberattacks," he said in a fragment of the interview, published by The Hill newspaper in its Twitter account.
"We have heard accusations against Russia, that Russia is standing behind. But <…> not a proof was presented. We consider it a continuation of another unproved accusations of Russia," the Kremlin spokesman continued.
"We are nearly accustomed to the fact that Ukrainians are blaming everything on Russia, even their bad weather," he added.
Military escalation
According to Peskov, the level of tensions on the border with Ukraine is excessive, that is why Russia is insisting on receiving a concrete response to its initiative of security guarantees.
"We have too much tension on the border. We have too much tension in this part of Europe. And, of course, it drags more problems, automatically. That’s why it is extremely, extremely dangerous for our continent. This is the reason [why] we are insisting that we receive a direct response for our concerns, extremely specific response for our extremely specific proposals," he said.
Security proposals
Kremlin spokesman rejected claims of Russian military escalation against Ukraine, adding that the United States has so far failed to present any proof of it.
During an interview with CNN, Peskov was asked about reports of Russia "planning a military escalation or attack on Ukraine."
"You see that this is not happening. This is number one," the Kremlin spokesman replied. "Number two: we have heard yesterday night the statement by Mr. Sullivan [US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan], and he promised to publish the proofs of that accusation within 24 hours, if I’m not mistaken. So we are still waiting for the proofs."
"You know, we are living in a world of fake accusations, of fake news and in a world of lies. And until it is proven somehow, by something visible or something understandable, we will continue to presume that it is fake news and false accusations," Peskov added.
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded", serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.