Britain claims that Russian special forces and spies are already in Ukraine
in significant numbers. The claim comes as London issues its loudest warning
yet of the potential for war to break out.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Moscow's special forces had
advanced across the border.
The Mirror on Wednesday (26/1/2022) also claimed to have received
information that the Russian GRU military intelligence unit and the Spetsnaz
crack troops were already in Ukraine to prepare for war.
They were seen as advancing parties that appeared to be plotting the attack
by the 126,000 regular troops assembled on the eastern side of Ukraine as
well as thousands more in Belarus.
It comes as London's special forces are preparing for the mass evacuation of
more than 1,000 British nationals if they become caught up in conflict.
They were ordered to register with the embassy in Kiev, the location where
they would be evacuated by air or transported by road 350 miles east to
Poland.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned British troops will soon be sent to
eastern Europe to help strengthen NATO against Russia.
Wallace told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that there were
already "individuals" linked to Russia in Ukraine in unconventional and
alarming ways.
"We are aware of the large number of individuals who are assessed to be
related to the operation of the Russian military advanced forces currently
located in Ukraine," he said.
"And that's what we expect to see next and what we're seeing now," he
explained. Ukraine's SBU security and intelligence services are working
around the clock to catch Russian spies trying to harass the country's
defenses.
Some of them have been arrested in the Donbas area, an area contested
between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Moscow separatists in recent
months.
According to The Mirror, Russia's covert operations in Ukraine will prepare
for espionage, sabotage operations, and anything else to undermine Ukraine's
defenses. Britain has provided Kiev forces with thousands of NLAW anti-tank
missiles to help them withstand attacks by Russian armored military
vehicles, along with 100 British military trainers.
"Any crossing into Ukraine, whether small or large, will be viewed as a
violation of that sovereignty, against international law and an invasion,"
Wallace said. "You can't be 'half pregnant', you are invading a country or
not," she added.
On Tuesday, Johnson warned Britain could deploy troops to protect NATO
allies in Europe if Russia attacked, saying Vladimir Putin faced "ferocious"
Ukrainian resistance.
The British PM also said his allies were ready to impose tough economic
sanctions on Russia amid fears of bloodshed comparable to the first war in
Chechnya or Bosnia.
Johnson told the House of Commons: "If Russia goes down this path, many sons
of Russian mothers will not come home."
"The response in the international community will be the same and the pain
it will inflict on the Russian economy will be the same," he added.
Russia has repeatedly denied having any plans to invade Ukraine. They assert
that the deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops on the border with
Ukraine is legal because they are on Russian soil.
