Britain said on Saturday it had reliable information about Russia’s moves to “put a pro-Russian leader in Kiev” as fears grew that Moscow would launch an invasion of Ukraine.
According to a statement from the British Foreign Ministry, Russian intelligence services had contacts with several Ukrainian politicians and “former deputy Yevhen Murayev is considered a potential leader” of this former Soviet republic, “although he is not the only one”.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, quoted in the statement, said the report reveals “the magnitude of Russian activity aimed at destabilizing Ukraine”.
Truss urges Russia to begin a “de-escalation” and “end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, continuing the path of diplomacy”.
The charges come a day after Russian diplomacy chief Sergey Lavrov and US chief Antony Blinken met in Geneva to try to reduce tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border and agreed to continue their “frank” talks next year. week.
Western countries accuse Russia of sending tanks, artillery and around 100,000 troops to the Ukrainian border in preparation for an attack.
The Kremlin denies any war intentions, but conditions the de-escalation to treaties that guarantee the non-expansion of NATO, in particular to Ukraine, as well as the withdrawal of the Atlantic Alliance from Eastern Europe, something that Westerners consider unacceptable.
On Tuesday, the White House said Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an attack “at any time” and warned that the West “does not rule out any option”.
In Saturday’s statement, Truss said that “any military incursion into Ukraine would be a major strategic mistake” and would result in “serious costs” for Russia.
German Navy Chief Kay-Achim Schönbach called the scenario of a Russian invasion of Ukraine “absurd”, a comment that prompted his resignation on Saturday, following a statement from the German Defense Ministry.
– With first and last name –
The list of people mentioned by name and surname in the British communiqué who would have been considered by the Russian services also includes former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who fled to Russia along with then-President Viktor Yanukovic in 2014, due to a popular uprising. in Kiev.
The others are the former head of the National Security and Defense Council Vladimir Sivkovich (sanctioned this week by the United States, along with three other Ukrainian politicians for their alleged cooperation with Russian intelligence services), the former deputy first- Minister Serhiy Arbuzov and former Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Kluyev.
The UK indictment also comes just hours after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu accepted an invitation to meet in Moscow with his British counterpart, Ben Wallace, to discuss the Ukrainian border crisis.
The bilateral meeting, which would be the first since 2013, aims to “explore all avenues to achieve stability and resolve the Ukrainian crisis”, a British Defense Ministry source said on Saturday.
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