--- title: Russia's U.S. Ambassador: No Interest in Invading Eastern Ukraine description: American lawmakers are showing concern over a Russian troop buildup along Ukraine's border canonical: https://time.com/42961/russia-ambassador-lavrov-ukraine-invading/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-30T18:05:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T11:29:18.075Z article:section: Politics og:title: Russia's U.S. Ambassador: No Interest in Invading Eastern Ukraine og:description: American lawmakers are showing concern over a Russian troop buildup along Ukraine's border og:url: https://time.com/42961/russia-ambassador-lavrov-ukraine-invading/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9b4369335647af6/6986880c169ab011e6278835/476104827.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4221 og:image:height: 2374 og:image:alt: UKRAINE-UNREST-POLITICS-EU-RUSSIA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Russia's U.S. Ambassador: No Interest in Invading Eastern Ukraine twitter:description: American lawmakers are showing concern over a Russian troop buildup along Ukraine's border twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9b4369335647af6/6986880c169ab011e6278835/476104827.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Russia's U.S. Ambassador: No Interest in Invading Eastern Ukraine > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=e93f1984-6d8e-4fcb-80b7-f5ef4b3c8060&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) and [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) Mar 30, 2014 6:05 PM UTC  Armed men in military fatigues block access to a Ukrainian border guards base not far from the village of Perevalne near Simferopol on March 2, 2014. Armed men in military fatigues block access to a Ukrainian border guards base not far from the village of Perevalne near Simferopol on March 2, 2014. Genya Savilov—AFP/Getty Images by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) and [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) Mar 30, 2014 6:05 PM UTC American lawmakers are showing concern over a Russian troop buildup along Ukraine’s border despite assurances from Russia that it will not invade the vulnerable eastern region of the country. “We have said so many times we have no intent, no interest in crossing the border,” Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak said in an appearance on ABC’s _This Week_ Sunday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov [said](http://time.com/42714/kerry-lavrov-ukraine-meeting/) in a televised statement Saturday that Russia has “absolutely no intention of – or interest in – crossing Ukraine’s borders.” Russia’s statements did little to calm American lawmakers’ concerns over a potential invasion in eastern Ukraine. “There is no question there a 40,000-plus troops that they are staged in various areas,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said Sunday on CNN’s _State of the Union_, adding that the Russian troop formation looks like an invasion force. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with Lavrov Sunday evening in Paris to discuss a diplomatic solution to the crisis. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/42961/russia-ambassador-lavrov-ukraine-invading/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/42961/russia-ambassador-lavrov-ukraine-invading/"},"headline":"Russia's U.S. Ambassador: No Interest in Invading Eastern Ukraine","datePublished":"2014-03-30T18:05:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:29:18.075Z","description":"American lawmakers are showing concern over a Russian troop buildup along Ukraine's border","url":"https://time.com/42961/russia-ambassador-lavrov-ukraine-invading/","keywords":["russia","Ukraine","europe","Crimea"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9b4369335647af6/6986880c169ab011e6278835/476104827.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9b4369335647af6/6986880c169ab011e6278835/476104827.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"UKRAINE-UNREST-POLITICS-EU-RUSSIA","caption":"UKRAINE-UNREST-POLITICS-EU-RUSSIA","creditText":"Genya Savilov—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/42961/russia-ambassador-lavrov-ukraine-invading/","name":"Russia's U.S. Ambassador: No Interest in Invading Eastern Ukraine"}}]}] ```