China says war threat hyped up by U.S. fuels Ukraine crisis

In recent days, the U.S. has hyped up the threat of war, which severely impacts Ukraine's economic and social stability, said China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a regular press conference on Wednesday.

He made the remarks when commenting on some Western media reports predicting that Russia could "invade" Ukraine on February 16.

Such hype has added to the resistance of relevant parties to promote dialogue and negotiation, Wang said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blasted the West's "Russian invasion of Ukraine" rumors as "information terrorism" during a press conference on Tuesday.

"The Russian troops are returning to their permanent bases in accordance with the approved schedule regardless of the West's hysteria over Russia's alleged preparations for an invasion of Ukraine," said Lavrov.

"I have noted that the Russian side recently said that the West has engaged in information terrorism on the Ukrainian issue. February 15 marks the day when the U.S. and the West failed in propaganda," said Wang.

"It is some people in the U.S. and the West who continue to incite and spread false information, adding more turbulence and uncertainty to this already challenging world and intensifying mistrust and division," he stressed.