“These types of plans are deeply concerning. The Ukrainian people have the sovereign right to determine their own future and we stand with our democratically elected partners in Ukraine,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in reaction.
Following the British complaint, the Ukrainian government assured yesterday that “it will continue its policy of dismantling any oligarchic and political structure that may be working to destabilize Ukraine or help the invaders,” according to Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the president’s chief of staff. Volodymyr Zelensky.
The name of former MP Yevgeny Murayev, whom London mentioned as the possible leader Moscow would seek to install in Kiev, “is not a surprise,” Podolyak said.
“The governments of our partners have begun to call things by their name and unmask the ‘friends of Russia,'” the Ukrainian official added.
Antecedent
The member of the Kiev government recalled Washington’s recent decision to sanction four Ukrainians, including two acting deputies, accused of collaborating with Moscow’s secret services.
For his part, Murayev, the 45-year-old former deputy accused from London and Kiev, said yesterday that “the time of pro-Western or pro-Russian politicians is over.”
“Stop dividing us between pro-Russian and pro-Western,” exhorted Murayev, who pointed out from his Facebook account that “the Ukrainian people need a rule of law, peace, solid and pragmatic economic and social policies, as well as new political leaders.”
Profile
Murayev, who heads the “Nachi” party (“Ours” in Ukrainian) is among the ten most popular politicians in the country.
He owns a TV station in that country, Nach, which the authorities are trying to shut down, accusing it of “inciting hatred” and spreading “Russian propaganda”.
Western countries accuse Russia of having deployed tanks, artillery and some 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine to prepare an attack.
The Kremlin denies any warlike intention, but conditions the de-escalation to treaties that guarantee the non-expansion of NATO, in particular to Ukraine, as well as the withdrawal of the Atlantic alliance from Eastern Europe, something that Westerners consider unacceptable.
Traditionally part of its sphere of influence, Ukraine seeks to join NATO, which the Kremlin finds unacceptable and carries the risk of a deployment of troops and weapons – including nuclear – on its southwestern border.
In 2014, Russian troops occupied and annexed the Crimean peninsula, while Moscow provided support of all kinds to pro-Russian separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Under suspicion
For the Foreign Office, “numerous Ukrainian politicians” maintain “links” with the Russian intelligence services, including agents allegedly involved in the Kremlin invasion plans. Among the candidates to replace the current pro-Western government, he particularly singled out Murayev, who is on the list of individuals sanctioned by the Ukrainian administration.
London also targeted the former deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Volodímir Sivkovich, who is on the list of Ukrainians sanctioned by the United States.
These accusations from London, which were not supported by evidence, came just hours after the Russian Foreign Ministry warned of imminent media and military provocations by the West.
In a first reaction, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged the United Kingdom to cease the provocations and stop spreading “nonsense”, while stressing that the disinformation of the Government of Boris Johnson is another proof that it is the NATO countries that incite tensions around Ukraine.
Source From: Ambito
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