US says Russia plans to manufacture justification for war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia was laying the groundwork to justify starting a war and preparing to launch an attack on Ukraine in the coming days, urging Moscow to change course at a tense United Nations Security Council meeting Thursday.

Blinken changed his travel plans so he could speak Thursday's UN meeting, where the top US diplomat said he was detailing US intelligence about Russia's attempts to fabricate a pretext for an invasion in an attempt to "influence Russia to abandon the path of war and choose a different path while there's still time."
"I am here today not to start a war, but to prevent one," Blinken said.