Anatoly Antonov, Russia's ambassador to the United States, has declared that Moscow has no plans to invade Ukraine.
During an interview with CBS, Antonov pointed out that Russia "publicly expressed readiness to continue diplomatic efforts" to resolve all issues at hand.
"Russian troops are positioned on Russia's sovereign territory. We are not threatening anyone," he noted.
The ambassador insisted that Russia regards Donbass as part of Ukraine and has no intention to seize a foreign country's territory.
"We are not trying to seize any territory of another country. I would like to confirm that Donetsk and Lugansk are part of Ukraine," he said.
Antonov also pointed out that NATO is not a "peace-loving NGO," and that Russia would like to stop the military bloc's expansion.
Since December, US President Joe Biden himself has repeatedly accused Russia of planning to invade Ukraine – accusations that Moscow vehemently denies.
Meanwhile, the situation in Ukraine's restive region of Donbass has taken a turn for the worse as Ukrainian government forces intensified shelling of the territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR).
As tensions in the region continue to escalate, DPR and LPR authorities have launched a mass evacuation of women and children to Russia, while DPR head Denis Pushilin warned that he expects Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to order an offensive against the self-proclaimed republics in the near future.