Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Ukrainian politician mocks 'stupid' claims he could lead puppet government

Ukrainian politician mocks 'stupid' claims he could lead puppet government

Former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevhen Murayev derided British allegations that he could be installed as leader of a Kremlin puppet government in Kyiv, and told Reuters in an interview that he was considering legal action.

Britain's foreign ministry said on Sunday that Moscow was considering Murayev as a potential candidate to lead Ukraine if Russia launched an invasion, and said Russian intelligence officers were in contact with several other former Ukrainian politicians about planning an attack.

Russia blasted the allegations as "disinformation" while a Ukrainian official said it should be looked at seriously.

"This morning I already read in all the news publications this conspiracy theory: absolutely unproven, absolutely unfounded," Murayev said on a video call.

He denied having any contact with Russian intelligence officers and dismissed the idea that he could be in league with the Kremlin as "stupid", given he was placed under Russian sanctions in 2018.

"Probably in the UK it was somehow forgotten or missed, or simply not even appreciated," said Murayev, adding that the allegations made him doubt the quality of UK intelligence work.

Earlier he had posted on Facebook a picture of himself altered to look like the fictional British spy James Bond.

Kyiv and its Western allies have sounded the alarm over Russia massing troops near Ukraine's borders. Russia denies plans to attack but has pressed for security guarantees, including a block on Ukraine joining the NATO alliance.

'PEACE, NOT NATO'


Murayev said he was prepared to defend his "honest name" against the British allegations. "Lawyers are preparing a mechanism for me," he added. "I will defend my honour in court."

Born in 1976, he began his political career in his native city of Kharkiv as an ally of the former President Viktor Yanukovich, who fled to Russia after the 2014 Maidan protests brought a pro-Western leadership to power.

Murayev was a lawmaker from 2014 to 2019. He started in the Opposition Bloc faction, a party formed from fragments of Yanukovich's Party of Regions. In June 2016 he founded his own party, For Life, and in 2018 he launched another party, Nashi.

Though he says he wants Ukraine to be independent from Russia as well as the West, Murayev has promoted some views that align with the Kremlin's narratives on Ukraine.

Speaking to Reuters, he called for a change of power in Ukraine and blamed the "collective West" for the war in the eastern Donbass region. Echoing Russia's hostility to the alliance, he said:

"Peace, not NATO, is in our interests, and if the question now is that we will have a war and hundreds of thousands will die because the collective West wants to see us as a launch pad, I think that this goes against our interests."

Murayev told Reuters he wanted Ukraine to be politically neutral, like Switzerland. He said he believed Russia put him under sanctions at the behest of a prominent pro-Kremlin politician in Ukraine with whom he fell out.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Unelected PM of the UK holds an emergency meeting because a candidate got voted in… which he says is a threat to democracy…
Farmers break through police barriers in Brussels.
Ukraine Arrests Father-Son Duo In Lockbit Cybercrime Bust
US Offers $15 Million For Info On Leaders Of Cybercrime Group Lockbit
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
Alexei Navalny: UK sanctions Russian prison chiefs after activist's death
German economy is in 'troubled waters' - ministry
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Tucker Carlson says Boris Johnson wants "a million dollars, in Bitcoin or cash, from Tucker Carlson to talk about Ukraine.
Russia is rebuilding capacity to destabilize European countries, new UK report warns
EU Commission wants anti-drone defenses at Brussels HQ
Von der Leyen’s 2nd-term pitch: More military might, less climate talk
EU Investigates TikTok for Child Safety Concerns
EU Launches Probe Into TikTok Over Child Protection Under Digital Content Law
EU and UK Announce Joint Effort on Migration
Ministers Confirm Proposal to Prohibit Mobile Phone Usage in English Schools
Avdiivka - Symbol Of Ukrainian Resistance Now In Control Of Russian Troops
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
Tucker Carlson grocery shopping in Russia. This is so interesting.
France and Germany Struggle to Align on European Defense Strategy
‘A lot higher than we expected’: Russian arms production worries Europe’s war planners
Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
Russia "Very Close" To Creating Cancer Vaccines, Says Vladimir Putin
Hungarian Foreign Minister: Europeans will lose Europe, the Union's policy must change drastically
Microsoft says it caught hackers from China, Russia and Iran using its AI tools
US Rejects Putin's Ceasefire Offer in Ukraine
The Dangers of Wildfire Smoke and Self-Protection Strategies
A Londoner has been arrested for expressing his Christian beliefs.
Chinese Women Favor AI Boyfriends Over Humans
Greece must address role in migrant vessel disaster that killed 600: Amnesty
Google pledges 25 million euros to boost AI skills in Europe
Hungarian President Katalin Novák Steps Down Amid Pardon Controversy
Activist crashes Hillary Clinton's speech, calls her a 'war criminal.'
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Trudeau reacts to Putin's mention of Canadian Parliament applauding a former Ukrainian Nazi in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
The Spanish police blocked the farmers protest. So the farmers went out and moved the police car out of the way.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy fires top Ukraine army commander
Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin raises EU concerns
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
Russia's Economy Expands by 3.6% Due to Increased Military Spending
Ukraine MPs Vote To Permit Use Of Dead Soldiers' Sperm
German Princess Becomes First Aristocrat To Pose Naked On Playboy Cover
UK’s King Charles III diagnosed with cancer
EU's Ursula von der Leyen Confronts Farmer Protests Amid Land Policy Debates
Distinguishing Between Harmful AI Media and Positive AI-Generated Content: A Crucial Challenge for the EU
Tucker Carlson explains why he interviewed Putin
Dutch farmers are still protesting in the Netherlands against the government, following the World Economic Forum's call for 'owning nothing.'
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stands up for European farmers and says, 'Brussels is suffocating European farmers.
×