The British Foreign Office said that Moscow is allegedly considering the possibility of bringing a government loyal to the Russian Federation to power in Kiev.
“We have information that indicates that the Russian government intends to imprison a pro-Russian leader in Kiev, while at the same time considering whether to invade and occupy Ukraine. Former Ukrainian MP Evgeny Muraev is being considered as a possible candidate,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement.
British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss said the information released by the office “sheds light on the scope of Russian activities aimed at undermining Ukraine and provides a glimpse into what the Kremlin is thinking.”
“Russia must make efforts to de-escalate, end its campaign of aggression and disinformation, and seek to return to the path of diplomacy,” Truss said.
In recent months, foreign media have been circulating reports that Russia is allegedly preparing an “attack” on the territory of Ukraine and is gathering troops to the borders. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stressed that Moscow is moving troops exclusively on its territory and such reports are “empty and unfounded escalation of tension.”
Earlier, the US State Department published a bulletin in which it accused Moscow of using propaganda mechanisms and escalating the situation in Ukraine. In turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry resolutely denied all accusations and stressed that the blame for the destabilization of the situation in Ukraine lies entirely with the United States and other NATO countries that supported the February 2014 coup in Kiev.