Friday, March 29

The alleged puppet president that Putin wanted to impose on Ukraine denies the plot


Correspondent in London

Updated:

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“We have information indicating that the Russian government is seeking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kiev while it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine. Former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev is being considered as a possible candidate. With these words begins the official statement made public by the British Foreign Office in which it accuses Russia to try to establish a puppet government in Ukraine and whose head would already have a name, that of this former parliamentarian who is also the owner of a television channel and who ran for president of Ukraine in 2019, although he later withdrew.

Murayev, 45, denied the accusations calling them “stupid and absurd”, and even explained that he himself is subject to sanctions by the Russians: “For four years I have been banned from even entering Russia,” he explained in an interview with the newspaper ‘Ukrainskaya Pravda’, in which he took the opportunity to point out that he expects an apology from London.

He also spoke with ‘The Observer’, to whom he said with a laugh that “the British Foreign Office seems confused.”

The unusual foreign statement of the United Kingdom He goes on to say that he has “information that the Russian intelligence services have links with numerous former Ukrainian politicians”, including “Serhiy Arbuzov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2012 to 2014, and Acting Prime Minister in 2014; Andriy Kluyev, deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2012 and chief of staff to former Ukrainian president Yanukovych; Vladimir Sivkovich, former Deputy Head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, and Mykola Azarov, Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014.

According to the Government of Boris Johnson, “some of them have contact with Russian intelligence officers who are currently involved in planning an attack on Ukraine.” From that country, Vasyl Filipchuk, a foreign spokesman, described the accusations about a possible plot as “ridiculous.”

The British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, declared that “the information published today (for Saturday) sheds light on the scope of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an idea of ​​​​the Kremlin’s thinking” for what he demanded from the Government of Vladimir Putin “reduce tension, end their campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and take the path of diplomacy.”

The Government dismisses the information as “nonsense”

The minister also stated that “the Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs”, words that the Putin government countered with a statement denying the largest and in which he urged the United Kingdom to “stop provocations” and stop spreading “nonsense”. “The disinformation spread by the UK Foreign Office is further proof that it is precisely the NATO countries, with the Anglo-Saxons at the forefront, who are dedicated to escalating tensions around Ukraine,” they noted.

Boris Johnson called the escalation “hugely dangerous” and called on European leaders to join U.S to deal with the Russian threat. “The prime minister’s view is that the situation in Ukraine is the biggest test of the unity and resolve of the West and the NATO alliance in decades,” said a Downing Street source, adding that “the UK is working.” with the OTAN and with the US “to promote a policy of dialogue and dissuasion, following the diplomatic path, but preparing a package of sanctions that will pierce the heart of the Russian economy if that fails.”

Likewise, London “is very clear that countries must be free to choose their own future and the voice of those from Eastern Europe must be heard in the negotiations.” His position on Ukraine is clear: “We unequivocally support its sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders, including Crimea. Ukraine is an independent and sovereign country.”

Regarding sanctions, Whitehall sources say that “preparations are being intensified” through “multiple daily coordination meetings to try to address the current threat and prepare for any escalation.”

Likewise, in an article published in the newspaper ‘The Telegraph’, Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the House of Commons, declared that “for the first time in a generation, we are on the brink of war in Europe. We need to be strong, not to threaten Moscow, but because only force can stop them.”

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