UK claims Russia seeking to replace Ukraine government with pro-Moscow ally
The British government on Saturday accused Russia of seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration, identifying a former Ukrainian lawmaker it claims the Kremlin is considering as a potential candidate.
Moscow has responded by accusing the British government of disinformation, urging London to "stop spreading nonsense".
The UK government made the claim based on an intelligence assessment, amid a war of words between Moscow and the West over Russia’s designs on Ukraine.
"We have information that indicates the Russian Government is looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine. The former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate," the UK foreign secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.
Yevhen Murayev is head of the small pro-Russian party Nashi, which currently has no seats in Ukraine’s parliament.
Britain’s Foreign Office named several other Ukrainian politicians, some of whom Truss said "have contact with Russian intelligence officers currently involved in the planning for an attack on Ukraine".
The information "shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking," she added.
Truss urged Russia to "de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy," and reiterated Britain’s view that "any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs".
Moscow responded on Sunday by dismissing London's claims outright. The Russian foreign ministry took to Twitter in English to accuse the British government of disinformation, adding that NATO members "led by the Anglo-Saxon
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