Washington State January 23 ANI Sputnik The United States is concerned by claims made by the British foreign office that Moscow plans to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine, Emily Horne, spokeswoman for the US National Security Council, said.
In a Saturday statement, the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the Russian government was looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kiev and that former Ukrainian parliament member Yevhen Murayev was considered as a potential candidate. The UK foreign ministry said Russian intelligence was in contact with a number of former Ukrainian politicians, including Ukraine's ex-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. There was no evidence to support any of the claims.
This kind of plotting is deeply concerning. Horne said on Saturday in a statement by The New York Times that Ukrainian people have the right to decide their own future, and that they stand with our democratically-elected partners in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the disinformation spread by the British Foreign Office is evidence that it is the NATO countries that are escalating tensions around Ukraine. The ministry called for the UK to stop spreading nonsense and stop halting provocative activities. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier on Saturday that Moscow expected military and informational provocations from the West and Ukraine on the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
On Thursday, the US State Department issued two fact sheets alleging Russia was spreading disinformation to paint Ukraine as an aggressor and blamed the West for pushing Kiev into a conflict with Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the US documents did not withstand the slightest criticism, since no specific facts were presented to support the allegations.
Zakharova said that the fact sheets can be viewed as propaganda since they were published on the eve of the Russia-US meeting in Geneva to promote a specific information agenda.
In the past few months, the West and Ukraine have accused Russia of amassing troops near the Ukrainian border in preparation for an invasion. Russia stated that it has no intention of invading Ukraine, while stressing that it has the right to move forces within its own territory.
Russia has expressed concern over NATO's military activity near its borders and the ongoing military support for Ukraine, including an increase in the number of Western instructors in Ukraine's southeast Donbas ANI Sputnik.