Ukrainian politician denied Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to put him in Kiev as a Kremlin puppet chief. Liz Truss called this’stupidity.
According to the Foreign Secretary, British intelligence discovered that Yevhen Muraev (who has previously supported Russia’s annexation and repression of Crimea) was being set up as a satellite for Moscow.
But, Murayev said that he was amused by the revelations and dismissed them as “nonsense”.
After separating from Ukraine’s largest pro-Russian party, the 45-year old former MP now owns a TV channel. He also founded his own party.
According to him, The Telegraph reported that he has trouble digesting stupidity or nonsense. Maybe somebody wants to close down another independent television channel.
‘As someone who has been under Russian sanctions for four years, barred from Russia as a national security threat and whose father got his assets frozen in Russia, I find it hard to comment on the Foreign Office’s statement.’
It comes as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a ‘large-scale war’ after Moscow massed more than 100,000 troops, tanks and artillery pieces along his border.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has also agreed to meet his UK counterpart Ben Wallace in Moscow for emergency talks after Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood warned an invasion of Ukraine was ‘imminent’ and that President Putin was ‘exploiting Western weakness’.
Yevhen Morayev (former Ukrainian MP) has denied claims that he was being set up as the leader of Ukraine in a role similar to Moscow.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said British intelligence had discovered Yevhen Murayev was being lined up by Russia
Russia has denied it is planning an invasion, but Vladimir Putin has issued demands to the West which he says concern Russia’s security, including not allowing Ukraine to join Nato
A 500-meter ribbon is held by people rallying patriotic support for Ukraine on Unity Day (January 22).
However, analysts are said to be surprised that Ms Truss claimed Mr Murayev was the Kremlin’s preferred leader. Some even described him as a marginal figure.
Ms Truss said the Foreign Office had established that the Russian government was looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kiev as it ‘considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine’, and that Russian intelligence officers involved in the planning for an attack were in contact with sympathetic politicians in the country.
The Foreign Secretary added: ‘The information being released today shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking.
‘Russia must de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy.
‘As the UK and our partners have said repeatedly, any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.’
Political analysts have pointed to more obvious choices to Mr Murayev, including Viktor Medvedchuk – a tycoon and friend of Mr Putin.
Volodymyr Fosenko in Kiev was a political specialist and said that Medvdevchuk is certainly closer to Russia, so they regard him as one their own.
Murayev said that he ‘could’ be one the people who sought roles in a government in case Russia invaded Ukraine.
Asked about the proposals for him to be installed as a puppet leader, Mr Murayev said: ‘Unless I’ve missed something, they [Russia] have another candidate and they’re not even hiding it. I’m a patriot of my country.’
It is believed he may have been referring to Mr Medvedchuk, who is currently under house arrest in Kiev amid suspicions he was funnelling profits from his businesses to Ukraine’s Kremlin-backed separatists. He has denied all wrongdoing.
Three television channels that were linked to Mr Medvedchuk were also shut down by the Ukrainian government, alleging they propagated pro-Russian propaganda.
This tycoon (67) is an old friend of Vladimir Putin who is also the godfather to his daughter.
The Russian president is said to be upset by his legal issues.
A Kyiv Territorial Defence group of civilian soldiers trains in a forest Saturday with thousands more civilians undergoing basic combat training
Last week, a convoy of Russian armored cars moved along the Crimean highway.
Ukraine has thousands of civil servants participating in these groups for basic combat training. In times of war, they would be directly under the command of the Ukrainian army.
A Russian rocket launcher fired last month during military drills close to Orenburg in Urals, Russia.
As locals gather to plant flowers during the memorial ceremony in honor of those killed in shelling at Donetsk’s bus stop on Saturday in 2015, Servicemen are present.
On Unity Day, people wearing Ukrainian flags attended a patriotic rally in Sophia Square. At the rally, speakers called for Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance.
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Sergei Shoigu, his Russian counterpart, will meet in Moscow to discuss the Ukraine crisis. (pictured: Russian soldiers take part military drills at Rostov, southern Russia. This is less than 70 miles away from the Ukrainian border. There are fears that there might be an invasion.
An army of Russian-made armoured vehicles is seen moving along the Crimean Highway on Tuesday, January 18th, 2022. Today, Ukraine condemned Germany’s refusal to provide weapons to Kyiv. It urged Berlin to stop “undermining unity” and “encouraging Vladimir Putin”, amid concerns of an invasion by Russia.
Mr Murayev, in contrast, hails from Kharkiv and is close to Russia’s border. He first became a member of parliament in 2012, under Viktor Yanukovych (pro-Kremlin President).
In 2014, Yanukovych was overthrown and fled to Russia.
However, Mr Murayev remained in Ukraine, and he has called for closer relations with Russia, in spite of the tensions caused by Russia’s annexation in 2014.
He was a candidate for President in 2019. However, he opted out to support a Putin-friendly candidate.
One of the few pro-Russian television channels owned by Mr Murayev is called Nash.
The channel’s week-end host, he accused the US and NATO of occupying Europe following the Second World War. He also said that Ukraine is caught in the middle between Russia and America.
Although he was subject to Russian sanctions in 2018, the spokesman for his country maintained that Russia’s conflict must end and pointed out their ‘common history dating back to several centuries.
Russia has denied it is planning an invasion, but Mr Putin has issued demands to the West which he says concern Russia’s security, including not allowing Ukraine to join Nato.
He wants NATO to cease military operations in the area and stop sending arms to Eastern Europe.
Boris Johnson is expected to ramp up the pressure on Russia this week by calling for European countries to join forces with the US in the face of increasing aggression and pushing for a ‘gear change’ on the Ukraine situation.