(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering a plan to invade Ukraine and oust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by force, according to British officials.
“We have 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,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss’s team said Saturday. “The former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate.”
That allegation raises the prospect of a Russian military operation more ambitious than many observers have feared. Prominent former U.S. officials previously have surmised Putin might be planning to broaden Russian holdings in eastern Ukraine.