{"id":243438,"date":"2022-01-23T17:48:38","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T23:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=243438"},"modified":"2022-01-24T08:25:19","modified_gmt":"2022-01-24T14:25:19","slug":"russia-rejects-claim-of-trying-to-replace-ukraine-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=243438","title":{"rendered":"Russia rejects claim of trying to replace Ukraine leader"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia rejects UK claim of trying to replace Ukraine leader<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>MOSCOW (AP – Sunday) \u2014 Russia\u2019s Foreign Ministry on Sunday rejected a British claim that the Kremlin is seeking to replace Ukraine\u2019s government with a pro-Moscow administration, and that former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev is a potential candidate.<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s Foreign Office on Saturday also named several other Ukrainian politicians it said had links with Russian intelligence services, along with Murayev who is the leader of a small party that has no seats in parliament.<\/p>\n

Those politicians include Mykola Azarov, a former prime minister under Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian president ousted in a 2014 uprising, and Yanukovych\u2019s former chief of staff, Andriy Kluyev.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these have contact with Russian intelligence officers currently involved in the planning for an attack on Ukraine,\u201d the Foreign Office said.<\/p>\n

Murayev told The Associated Press via Skype that the British claim \u201clooks ridiculous and funny\u201d and that he has been denied entry to Russia since 2018 on the grounds of being a threat to Russian security. He said that sanction was imposed in the wake of a conflict with Viktor Medvedchuk, Ukraine\u2019s most prominent pro-Russia politician and a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

Murayev\u2019s Nashi party \u2014 whose name echoes the former Russian youth movement that supported Putin \u2014 is regarded as sympathetic to Russia, but Murayev on Sunday pushed back on characterizing it as pro-Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time of pro-Western and pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine is gone forever,\u201d he said in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that does not support the pro-Western path of development of Ukraine is automatically pro-Russian,\u201d Murayev told The AP.<\/p>\n

He also said he supports Ukraine having neutral status and believes that \u201cstriving for NATO is tantamount to continuing the war.\u201d Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting in the country\u2019s east since 2014, a conflict that has killed more than 14,000.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko described Murayev as a significant figure in Ukraine\u2019s pro-Russia camp, but added: \u201cMurayev is a second-place player. I don\u2019t think Murayev has direct connections in the Kremlin.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.K. government made the claim based on an intelligence assessment, without providing evidence to back it up. It comes amid high tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia\u2019s designs on Ukraine and each side\u2019s increasing accusations that the other is planning provocations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe disinformation spread by the British Foreign Office is more evidence that it is the NATO countries, led by the Anglo-Saxons, who are escalating tensions around Ukraine,\u201d Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the Telegram messaging app Sunday. \u201cWe call on the British Foreign Office to stop provocative activities, stop spreading nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the information \u201cshines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Truss urged Russia to \u201cdeescalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy,\u201d and reiterated Britain\u2019s view that \u201cany Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Britain has sent anti-tank weapons to Ukraine as part of efforts to bolster the country\u2019s defenses against a potential Russian attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n