Amid a string of intense contacts between Russia and the United States over tensions over the deployment of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, Britain said on Saturday it had information indicating that the Kremlin was trying to install a pro-Russian leader. in Kiev as it considers invading and occupying Ukraine, said a statement released by the British Foreign Office. Former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevhen Murayev is considered a possible candidate, according to the ministry, which says it has information that Russian intelligence services have ties to many former Ukrainian politicians.
These politicians, according to the UK, include Serhiy Arbuzov, first deputy prime minister of Ukraine from 2012 to 2014 and interim prime minister in 2014; Andriy Klyuev, First Deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2012; Vladimir Sivkovich, former deputy head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC); and Mykola Azarov, Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. Some of them have contacts with Russian intelligence officials who are currently involved in planning an attack against Ukraine, the British Foreign Office said in a statement.
“The information released today sheds light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking,” UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss said in the statement. “Russia must defuse tensions, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation and follow the path of diplomacy. As the UK and our partners have repeatedly said, any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a major strategic mistake with severe costs.” The British government reiterates that it “unequivocally” supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders, including Crimea.
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