U.S. accuses Russia of planning to shut down Ukrainian democracy

FILE PHOTO: Tanks of pro-Russian troops drive along a road during Ukraine-Russia conflict near the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 17, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States accused Russia on Thursday of planning to short-circuit Ukrainian democracy by forcing the government from power and dismantling local authorities.

"We have information that Russia's planning for its further invasion of Ukraine includes a forced capitulation of Ukraine's democratically elected government, including dissolving all local municipal governments in Ukraine," U.S. Ambassador Michael Carpenter said in an address to the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperating in Europe (OSCE).