Russia’s Foreign Ministry has denied claims that they are working behind-the-scenes to oust Ukraine’s government and replace it with a pro-Kremlin administration. The claim, made by the U.K. Foreign Office on Saturday, suggested that Moscow was pushing former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev to lead the country and named several other Moscow-friendly pols for key positions. “Some of these have contact with Russian intelligence officers currently involved in the planning for an attack on Ukraine,” the Foreign Office said. Murayev personally denied the allegation on Sunday, saying his Nashi party was not pro-Russia per se. “The time of pro-Western and pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine is gone forever,” he said in a Facebook post in which he superimposed his face on a James Bond movie poster with the cryptic comment: “Details tomorrow.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted on Telegram Sunday that the idea was far-fetched. “The disinformation spread by the British Foreign Office is more evidence that it is the NATO countries, led by the Anglo-Saxons, who are escalating tensions around Ukraine,” she wrote. “We call on the British Foreign Office to stop provocative activities, stop spreading nonsense.”
