MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) - Kyiv is plotting another provocation in Donbas with the participation of recently relocated Ukrainian airborne units trained by U.S. and British instructors, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
"Martial law is the smokescreen which the regime of [Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko] is using to conceal another provocation in Donbas. We believe that everything will be presented as clear evidence of the so-called 'Russian aggression'," Zakharova said.
Combat-capable forces of the Ukrainian army trained by NATO instructors have been deployed to Donbas, Zakharova said. "Servicemen of air assault and mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who underwent intensive training with the active involvement of U.S., Canadian, and British instructors at ranges of the Zhytomyr and Lviv regions in November, are being moved to the conflict zone," Zakharova said.
"Information about active preparations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for possible military operations in Donbas has been spreading in recent days," she said.
"Substantial attack forces are being deployed to the region and stationed along the entire contact line. Specialists from foreign private military companies, who trained servicemen of Ukrainian special-ops units to conduct offensive operations, have been spotted on the contact line," Zakharova said.
The British media said that British servicemen specializing in cyber operations were being sent to Donbas, Zakharova said. "We have taken note of the British media reports about the deployment of servicemen of the UK's 77th brigade, which is focused on cyber operations and methods of psychological and information influence, to Ukraine," Zakharova said.