Scott Olson | Getty Images WASHINGTON — The White House said Tuesday it has information indicating Russia is taking steps to annex parts of Ukraine. “We are seeing abundant evidence and information that Russia intends to try to annex additional Ukrainian territory,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House. Kirby added that the US noticed a similar Russian book in 2014 before the Kremlin annexed Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula on the Black Sea. “Russia is installing illegal proxies in the areas of Ukraine under its control. We know their next moves,” Kirby said. “We want to make that clear to the American people. No one is fooled by this,” he added. The former Pentagon spokesman said Moscow is trying to establish branches of Russian banks in order to create a path to make the ruble the default currency in the territories it wants to annex. Kirby also said that Russian forces are taking control of broadcast towers in order to monitor communications. The US also believes Moscow is forcing Ukrainian residents to apply for Russian citizenship and issue Russian passports. The latest revelation comes as Ukraine’s first lady visits the White House amid near-constant Russian shelling of cities and towns in Donetsk. Kirby also said the Biden administration is preparing a new military aid package for Ukraine. The upcoming package, the 16th US installment, will be adapted to the fighting in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. has provided about $8 billion in security aid since the war began in late February, including about $2.2 billion last month.
