COMMENT | Some Western leaders look at Russia-Ukraine tensions through the binoculars of war, warning that a Russian attack on Ukraine is imminent and threatening to impose sanctions against Russia in the event it invades Ukraine.

For instance, the White House National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne stated recently that “President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February.”

In anticipation of this “invasion” Bob Menendez, chair of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said lawmakers were devising the “mother of all sanctions” against Russia that would be “crippling to their economy.”

However, Russia denied any plans...