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Egypt Independent
Russia’s Foreign Ministry rejected a British claim on Sunday that “Russia was seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration”. London said that “former Ukrainian lawmaker, Yevheniy Murayev, was being considered as a potential candidate”.
“The disinformation spread by the British Foreign Office is more evident that it is the NATO countries, led by the Anglo-Saxons, who are escalating tensions around Ukraine”, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.
“We call on the British Foreign Office to stop provocative activities and stop spreading nonsense”, she added.
On Saturday, Britain’s Foreign Office named several Ukrainian politicians it said; “had links with Russian intelligence services” along with Murayev, the leader of a small party with no seats in parliament.
Named Ukrainian politicians include Mykola Azarov, a former Prime Minister under Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian President ousted in a 2014 and Yanukovych’s former chief of staff Andriy Kluyev.
The UK government made their claim based on intelligence assessment without providing supporting evidence. It comes amid growing tensions between Moscow and the West over “Russian advances on Ukraine”.
“The information cites the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine and is an insight into Kremlin thinking”, British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, said.
Amid diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis, UK’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is expected to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu for talks in Moscow. No timing was given for the meeting, which would be the first UK-Russia defence talks since 2013.
The U.S. has mounted an aggressive campaign in recent months to unify its European allies against “a new Russian invasion of Ukraine”. The White House called the UK government assessment as “deeply concerning”, saying it “stands with the duly elected Ukrainian government”.
