US claims Russia planning ‘false-flag’ operation to justify Ukraine invasion

The US has alleged Russia has already positioned saboteurs in Ukraine to carry out a "false flag" operation to use as a pretext for a Russian attack, which Washington says could begin in the coming month.

The allegations came on the same day as a large-scale cyber-attack on Ukrainian government websites, and amid new reports of Russian military hardware on the move from the far east heading westwards.

They follow a week of failed diplomacy with abortive talks in Geneva, Brussels and Vienna, which did nothing to defuse the crisis provoked by Russia's massing of more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders. Moscow has persistently portrayed the crisis as a military threat from Ukraine against Russia, without providing any evidence.

"We have information that indicates Russia has already pre-positioned a group of operatives to conduct a false flag operation in eastern Ukraine," Jen Psaki, the White House spokeswoman, said. "The operatives are trained in urban warfare and using explosives to carry out acts of sabotage against Russia's own proxy forces."

The allegation was echoed by the Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, who said that Russia was preparing "an operation designed to look like an attack on ... Russian-speaking people in Ukraine, again as an excuse to go in."

A US official claimed that social media disinformation had been stepped up well in advance, saying: "The Russian military plans to begin these activities several weeks before a military invasion, which could begin between mid-January and mid-February."

Russian-language posts on social media accusing Ukraine and its western backers of planning attacks appeared at the rate of 3,500 a day in December, a 200% increase from the daily average in November, the official said.