The UK warns Russia will face severe sanctions if it puts up a puppet regime'' in Ukraine.
Russia will face severe economic sanctions if it installs a puppet regime in Ukraine, a senior British minister said on Sunday after the UK accused the Kremlin of trying to install a pro-Russian leader there.
If Russia decides to invade but also to install a puppet regime, there's going to be very serious consequences, said Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who spokeswoman for Sky News.
Britain made the accusation late on Saturday, saying Russian intelligence officers had been in contact with a number of former Ukrainian politicians as part of plans for an invasion.
The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the British allegation as disinformation, accusing NATO of escalating tensions over Ukraine.
The British claims came after top US and Russian diplomats failed to make a major breakthrough in talks to resolve the crisis over Ukraine, which started when Russia began massing troops near its border with the country.
Officials in Moscow have said they have no plans to invade and both they and their American counterparts have agreed to keep talking. The tension remains high.
In Washington, the US State Department said it was ordering the departure of eligible family members from its Embassy in Kyiv due to the threat of Russian military action.
US President Joe Biden is considering options for boosting America's military assets in the region, senior administration officials said after meeting top national security aides at his Camp David retreat on Saturday.
The New York Times said Biden was planning to send 1,000 to 5,000 troops to Eastern Europe, with the possibility of increasing the number if tensions flare further.
A senior administration official declined to confirm the numbers on Sunday but said they were working on plans and we are consulting with allies to determine options moving forward. The Russian government is considering former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevhen Murayev as a potential candidate to lead a pro-Russian leadership.
Murayev poured cold water on the notion that Russia wants to install him as Ukraine's leader, in comments to British newspapers and in an interview with Reuters.
Murayev told a video call that he was considering legal action after reading this conspiracy theory in all news publications: absolutely unproven, absolutely unfounded.
He denied having any contact with Russian intelligence officers and dismissed the idea that he could be in league with the Kremlin as stupid because he was placed under Russian sanctions in 2018.
Although he wants Ukraine to be independent from Russia and the West, Murayev, 45, has promoted some views that align with the Kremlin's narratives on Ukraine.
The British foreign ministry didn't provide evidence to back up its accusations. In a message to the Ukrainian government's adviser to the presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak said there was doubt among Ukrainians whether Murayev was too ridiculous to be the Kremlin's pick to lead Ukraine.
But he said Russia had propped up previously minor figures in leadership positions in annexed Crimea and separatist-held Donbass.
He said that one should take this information as seriously as possible.
The alleged plotting over Ukraine was described as deeply concerning by the United States, and US officials said they were bracing for Russian action.
The State Department authorized the voluntary departure of US government employees and said all Americans should consider leaving immediately.
The Department of State authorised the voluntary departure of US direct hire employees and ordered the departure of eligible family members from Embassy Kyiv due to the continued threat of Russian military action, it said in a statement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has so far rebuffed calls to immediately impose economic sanctions on Russia, but on Sunday he said that it would undermine the West's ability to deter potential Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The United States has sent military assistance to Ukraine, but it has held back from sending American troops.
As US troop deployments were discussed, a senior administration official said that US economic penalties on Russia would have far-reaching consequences if it invades Ukraine.
The Foreign Direct Product Rule would be used by the United States to restrict the export of microelectronics to Russia based on US equipment, software or technology.
Russia has made a number of demands on the United States, including a halt to NATO's eastward expansion and a pledge that Ukraine will never be allowed to join the Western military alliance.