Opinion: London’s Ukraine coup claims strain both belief and consensus

Mark Galeotti - In an age of ubiquitous disinformation and misinformation, it is no longer enough for governments simply to hint at having intelligence in support of their claims, says Professor Mark Galeotti (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies). Just when the current Ukraine crisis looked as if it could hardly get more confused and confusing, the British Foreign Office (FCDO) has just released a frustratingly brief  press release claiming that it has '"information" that "the Russian Government is looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine." Coming on the heels of a U.S.  announcement  of sanctions on four Ukrainians "engaged in Russian government-directed influence activities to destabilize Ukraine" with an eye to "creating a new, Russian-controlled government in Ukraine," this would sound like clear evidence of Moscow's plans. And yet, things are never quite that straightforward. First of all, it is worth noting that the American and British allegations, while similar in nature, are strikingly different in detail. Only one individual appears on both lists: Vladimir Sivkovich, the former Deputy Head of the Ukrainian National Security & Defence Council, currently in exile in Russia. Considering the breadth and depth of U.K. and U.S. intelligence sharing and policy coordination, it seems strange that they manage to come up with similar sounding plots but different casts. We may be used to American TV picking up and re-shooting British series from  The Office  to  House of Cards , but geopolitics ought to be a little more consistent.