UK government: Kremlin attempting "to install pro-Russian leadership" in Ukraine

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary on Saturday night said the government has “information that indicates the Russian Government is looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine.”

Driving the news: US National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne called the intelligence “deeply concerning” in a statement to Axios. The Biden administration has said Russia is actively manufacturing a pretext for invasion and warned that Putin could use joint military exercises in Belarus as cover to invade from the north.

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  • “The former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate” as part of this plan, according to the release from the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

What they’re saying: “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,” Truss said, according to the release.

  • “Russia must de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy,” she said, adding: “As the UK and our partners have said repeatedly, any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.”

  • Axios has reached out to the State Department seeking additional comment.

Editor’s note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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source: yahoo.com