HELSINKI (AP) 鈥� The British government on Saturday accused Russia of seeking to replace Ukraine鈥檚 government with a pro-Moscow administration, and said former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate.
Murayev is head of the small pro-Russian party Nashi, which currently has no seats in Ukraine鈥檚 parliament.
Britain鈥檚 Foreign Office named several other Ukrainian politicians it said had links with Russian intelligence services.
It鈥檚 unclear what means Britain believes Russia might use to install a friendly government in Kyiv.
The U.K. government made the claim based on an intelligence assessment, without providing evidence to back it up. It comes amid a war of words between Moscow and the West over Russia鈥檚 designs on Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the information 鈥渟hines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking.鈥�
Truss urged Russia to 鈥渄e-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy,鈥� and reiterated Britain鈥檚 view that 鈥渁ny Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.鈥�
Britain has sent anti-tank weapons to Ukraine as part of efforts to bolster its defenses against a potential Russian attack.
Amid diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace is expected to meet Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for talks in Moscow. No timing has been given for the meeting, which would be the first U.K.-Russia bilateral defense talks since 2013.
The U.S. has mounted an aggressive campaign in recent months to unify its European allies against a new Russian invasion of Ukraine. The White House called the UK government assessment 鈥渄eeply concerning鈥� and said it stands with the duly elected Ukrainian government.
鈥淭his kind of plotting is deeply concerning,鈥� said National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne. 鈥淭he Ukrainian people have the sovereign right to determine their own future, and we stand with our democratically-elected partners in Ukraine.鈥�
The assessment came as Biden spent Saturday at the presidential retreat Camp David outside of Washington huddling with his senior national security team about the Ukraine situation.
In another development, the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plan to send U.S.-made anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, a move that the United States fully endorsed Saturday amid Kyiv鈥檚 escalating tensions with Russia.
The defense ministers of the three Baltic states said in a joint statement that they 鈥渟tand united in our commitment to Ukraine鈥檚 sovereignty and territorial integrity in face of continued Russian aggression.鈥�
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a tweet that Washington saluted the NATO nations and former Soviet republics 鈥渇or their longstanding support to Ukraine.鈥�
鈥淚 expedited and authorized and we fully endorse transfers of defensive equipment @NATO Allies Estonia Latvia Lithuania are providing to Ukraine to strengthen its ability to defend itself against Russia鈥檚 unprovoked and irresponsible aggression,鈥� Blinken said in another tweet.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier this week described the West supplying arms to Ukraine as extremely dangerous and said the shipments 鈥渄o nothing to reduce tensions.鈥�
Moscow has massed tens of thousands of troops near the Russia-Ukraine border, leading to fears of an invasion. The West has rejected Moscow鈥檚 main demands 鈥� promises from NATO that Ukraine will never be added as a member, that no alliance weapons will be deployed near Russian borders, and that it will pull back its forces from Central and Eastern Europe.
A meeting Friday between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ended with no breakthrough. Amid the uncertain security situation, the U.S. State Department has been considering a range of options to ensure the safety and security of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and its employees by moving to reduce its diplomatic presence there.
The defense ministers of the Baltic states said in their statement that Estonia would provide Javelin anti-tank weapons while Latvia and Lithuania were sending Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and other related equipment to bolster Kyiv鈥檚 defensive military capabilities. It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear when the weapons and equipment would be sent to Ukraine.
鈥淭oday, Ukraine is at the forefront of separating Europe from the military conflict with Russia. Let麓s face it, the war in Ukraine is ongoing and it is important to support Ukraine in every way we can so that they can resist the aggressor,鈥� Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet said.
Estonia also is seeking Germany鈥檚 approval to send Soviet-made howitzers, which once belonged to East Germany, to Ukraine. Estonia acquired the howitzers from non-NATO member Finland, which in turn had bought them from Germany鈥檚 military surplus supply in the 1990s.
The German government said Friday that it was considering Estonia鈥檚 request to pass the howitzers on to Ukraine but gave no timeline for a decision. Berlin said it planned to coordinate the issue with Finland, which has received a similar approval request from Estonia.
Berlin routinely demands a say when German-sold weapons are transferred to third countries. But some recent media reports suggested German Chancellor Olaf Scholz鈥檚 Cabinet could block Estonia鈥檚 transfer of weapons to Kyiv, highlighting divisions in the West鈥檚 response to the Ukraine crisis.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba alleged Saturday that Germany was not showing adequate support for Ukraine.
Kuleba said in a Twitter post that the weapons transfer issue and remarks by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressing skepticism about cutting off Russia from the SWIFT global payments system 鈥渄o not correspond to the level of our relations and the current security situation.鈥�
Also Saturday, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador to object to recently circulated video in which the head of the German navy said that Ukraine would not regain the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin deserved 鈥渞espect.鈥�
The comments by vice admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach sparked consternation and a swift rebuke back in Berlin. By late Saturday, the German navy chief had tendered his resignation, saying he wanted to prevent further damage resulting from his 鈥渋ll-considered statements鈥� in India.
The U.S. State Department is currently warning U.S. citizens not to visit Ukraine due to the coronavirus pandemic but is also advising them to reconsider travel there due to potential Russian aggression.
Speculation that an announcement about the U.S. diplomatic presence in Ukraine may be imminent has increased since the Embassy in Kyiv announced it would hold a virtual town hall meeting about the security situation with U.S. citizens in Ukraine on Tuesday.
Discussions on the matter have been underway for some time, but Blinken went over the contingency plans with the embassy鈥檚 security team when he visited Kyiv on Wednesday, officials said.
The officials stressed that no decisions had yet been made and that an outright evacuation is not being considered. One possible scenario would be to order the families of American personnel to leave the country while allowing non-essential staffers to depart voluntarily at government expense, they said.
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Jim Heintz in Moscow and AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Jari Tanner, The Associated Press
