British spy chiefs ‘warn against’ Western military action in Ukraine

April 23, 2014 by Ian Allen

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org

The heads of British intelligence agencies are said to have advised London that interfering militarily in Ukraine would likely prompt a violent Russian response. The Sunday People said last weekend that Whitehall has been advised a Western military interference in Ukraine would “risk spiraling into an all-out war with Russia”. The Labour-supporting paper, which is published by the Trinity Mirror group, claimed that the head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, is understood to have told British Prime Minister David Cameron that the Russian government “will not stand idly by” if Western troops enter Western Ukraine, ostensibly to prevent westward military advances by Russian forces. One “senior source” told The People that the message delivered to Whitehall was that “it’s not worth starting World War Three over Ukraine”. The briefing appears to rest on intelligence acquired from sources in Russia, as well as by MI6 operatives on the ground in eastern Ukraine, which, according to the paper, “have been moving around [eastern Ukraine] covertly, monitoring border crossing points and towns where Russian support is strongest”. Meanwhile on Monday the United States Department of State distributed an 11-page document with photographs alleging that Russian Spetsnaz (special purpose forces) troops are among the occupiers of government buildings in eastern Ukraine. The same document was distributed last week by Ukrainian officials at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Early on Tuesday, US Vice President Joe Biden, who is visiting Ukrainian capital Kiev, pledged $50 million to help the country’s government carry out unspecified “political and economic reforms”. About a fifth of that amount has been earmarked to help fund Ukraine’s presidential election in late May of this year. Another $8 million is to go toward “non-lethal military assistance” for the Ukrainian armed forces, such as “bomb-disposal equipment, communications gear and vehicles”. Biden’s monetary pledge came hours after Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, urged Washington to provide “real support” to his embattled nation. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Yatsenyuk said Ukraine was in need of “financial and economic support” from the United Stats. He continued saying Kiev needs “to overhaul the Ukrainian military. We need to modernize our security and military forces. We need real support”, he concluded.