Military Activity In Donbass Increases, British Foreign Minister Accuses Russia Of Fabricating Pretext For Invasion Of Ukraine

British Foreign Minister Lizz Truss during a visit to Indonesia. (Source: Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Russia on Thursday of trying to fabricate a pretext to attack Ukraine after Moscow expressed concern about increasing military activity in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.

Earlier, Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government troops accused each other of firing shells across the ceasefire line in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region, in what Kyiv said was a "provocation".

Western powers fear that Moscow, which has amassed some 150.000 troops near Russia's border with Ukraine, may be trying to engineer an escalation of fighting in eastern Ukraine as an excuse to intervene directly.

"Reports of alleged abnormal military activity by Ukraine in the Donbass are a blatant attempt by the Russian government to fabricate a pretext for invasion. This is straight from the Kremlin playbook," Minister Truss said on Twitter, adding that Britain would view it as a Russian disinformation campaign.

Foreign Minister Truss was in Kyiv on Thursday as part of diplomatic efforts to prevent a possible Russian invasion. Moscow denies plans to attack and accuses Western countries of "hysteria" in their reaction to its military exercises.

In an article published in Thursday's edition of The Daily Telegraph newspaper, Foreign Minister Truss said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin could drag down the months-long Ukraine crisis in a bid to challenge Western unity.

"There is currently no evidence that Russia is withdrawing from the border region near Ukraine," she wrote, echoing concerns expressed by the United States, NATO, and others.

"Russia's military build-up shows no signs of slowing down. We must have no illusions that Russia could drag this on any longer in its brazen tactics to spend weeks, if not months, subverting Ukraine and challenging Western unity."

Meanwhile, British armed forces minister James Heappey, also warning of a possible Russian invasion, told BBC Radio that a bridge had been laid across the Pripyat River near the Belarus-Ukraine border.

It is known, Russia has conducted several military exercises in Belarus, a close ally, which is located in northern Ukraine.

General Heappey also said the West should plan for a scenario where Russia does not attack, but maintains its forces for the long term.

"It's kind of a noose around Ukraine's neck with all the economic, political, and security repercussions it will have," he told Sky News.