UK accuses Russia of plotting to install pro-Moscow govt in Ukraine

The UK has accused President Putin of plotting to install a pro-Moscow government in Ukraine.

The Foreign Office took the unusual step of naming former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev as a potential Kremlin candidate.

Russia has moved 100,000 troops near to its border with Ukraine but denies it is planning an invasion.

UK ministers have warned that the Russian government will face serious consequences if there is an incursion.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement, “The information being released today shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking.”

“Russia must de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy.”

“As the UK and our partners have said repeatedly, any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.”

Western and Ukrainian intelligence services have suggested another invasion or incursion could happen some time in early 2022, after Russian forces amassed on the border.

Russia has denied it is planning any attack but President Putin has issued demands to the West, including that Ukraine be prevented from joining the Nato military alliance.

He also wants Nato to abandon military exercises and stop sending weapons to eastern Europe, seeing this as a direct threat to Russia’s security.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted that the Foreign Office was “circulating disinformation” and urged it to “cease these provocative activities” and “stop spreading nonsense”.

Earlier, the chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee warned an invasion could be imminent and said the UK must do more to support Ukraine.

Dozens of British troops have been in Ukraine since 2015 to help train their armed forces, and the UK has also made a commitment to help rebuild Ukraine’s navy following Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014.

Earlier this week, the UK announced it was sending defence weapons and extra troops for training.

Nato’s 30 members - including the UK, US and several former Soviet Union states which share a border with Russia - agree that an armed attack against one is an attack against them all, and they will come to the aid of one another._BBC News