MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) may plot provocations against Russian nationals residing in the country to drag Russia into the conflict, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky told TASS.

Director of the Department of the Situation and Crisis Center at the Russian Foreign Ministry Yuri Gorlach said on February 14 that Russia’s Foreign Ministry advised Russian citizens to follow the ministry’s reports in connection with the situation in Ukraine. He noted that provocations are not ruled out, "specifically from independent ‘actors’ in Ukraine".

"[They] may plant explosives on our citizens, then apprehend them and accuse them of being ‘Russian spies’ plotting a blast in a building or on a bus or elsewhere. These provocative acts are plotted by the Security Service's specialists at the behest of foreign advisers residing there. [They] may drug them with psychotropic substances so as they would admit that they were instructed by the Kremlin to destabilize the situation," Vodolatsky said.

He added that Kiev expects to draw Russia into the conflict in Donbass where significant tension has been observed recently. "People in Ukraine are shocked by what is occurring. At present, they are increasingly raising their voices against the hostilities. They are simply intimidated by volunteer battalions and the Right Sector which are the main repressive mechanism. Ordinary people cannot stand it," the lawmaker maintained.

The West and Kiev have recently been echoing allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded", serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such claims and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.