Tensions Between Russia And Ukraine: The United Kingdom Warns Of A Plot To Install Pro-Russian Propaganda In Ukraine. -Alliance With Moscow

The United Kingdom has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to appoint a pro-Russian candidate to run Ukraine's government.

Former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev was named as a possible Kremlin candidate by the Foreign Office, which is unusual.

Russia has deployed 100,000 troops near Ukraine's border, but denies plotting an invasion.

If there is an incursion, UK politicians have warned that the Russian government will face catastrophic consequences.

"The information being provided today casts a light on the scope of Russian action meant to destabilize Ukraine, and gives an insight into Kremlin thought," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.

"Russia must de-escalate, halt its aggressive and disinformation campaigns, and follow a diplomatic approach."

The Russian Foreign Ministry tweeted that the Foreign Office was "circulating lies" and that it should "end these provocative operations" and "stop propagating rubbish."

There is "a very serious risk" of invasion, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, but there would be "severe economic consequences," including sanctions, if Russia did so.

He did, however, tell the BBC's Sunday Morning programme that British troops would not be sent to defend Ukraine because the country was not a Nato ally.

When asked if the fear of sanctions would be enough to discourage Russia from invading, Mr Raab responded that Vladimir Putin would also be concerned about getting "stuck in Ukraine" and ending up with "another Chechnya," as there was in the 1990s.

"Russia must live up to the basic precepts of international law, and invading another country is not one of them," he continued.

Russia has rejected any plans for an assault, but Mr Putin has made demands on the West, including the exclusion of Ukraine from the Nato military alliance.

He also wants Nato to stop conducting military drills and shipping weaponry to Eastern Europe, which he sees as a direct danger to Russia's security.

Russia has previously seized Ukrainian territory, such as when it annexed Crimea in 2014 after the country's pro-Moscow president was deposed.

Since then, Ukraine's military has been at odds with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, close to Russia's borders. In the Donbas region, an estimated 14,000 people have been dead.