Natalia Zinets and Elena Ostrovskaya

KYIV (Reuters). – Yevhen Murayev, a former Ukrainian lawmaker, dismissed British accusations that he might be elected leader of a Kremlin puppet regime in Kyiv. In an interview with Reuters, he said that he had been considering legal action.

The British foreign ministry stated on Sunday that Moscow considered Murayev a possible candidate for Ukraine’s leadership if Russia invades. It also said Russian intelligence officers had been in touch with several former Ukrainian politicians to discuss preparing an attack.

Russia dismissed the claims as “disinformation”, while an official from Ukraine said that it was important to be considered seriously.

Murayev stated on video that he had already seen in the media this conspiracy theory.

He claimed he had never spoken to Russian intelligence officers.

Murayev said that it is possible for the UK to have forgotten about or overlooked the matter, or not appreciated at all. He also stated that the accusations made him question the quality of intelligence work in the UK.

He had previously posted (NASDAQ:) on Facebook a photo of him altered so that he looked like James Bond, a fictional British spy.

Kyiv has raised concerns about Russia’s troop deployments near Ukraine’s border with its Western allies. Russia has denied plans to attack, but has demanded security guarantees. This includes a ban on Ukraine becoming a NATO member.

Peace, not NATO

Murayev stated that he is ready to defend his honor against British accusations. He added, “Lawyers have prepared a mechanism to me.” He added, “Lawyers are preparing a mechanism for me.”

In 1976, he was born. He began his political career as an ally for the former President Viktor Yanukovich in Kharkiv. After the 2014 Maidan protests, a pro-Western leader came to power, Yanukovich fled Russia.

Murayev, a lawmaker between 2014 and 2019, was his name. From 2014 to 2019, he was a lawmaker in the Opposition Bloc party, which is a group that was formed out of fragments of Yanukovich’s Party of Regions. He founded For Life in June 2016, and Nashi was launched in 2018.

While he states that he would like Ukraine to be independent from Russia and the West, Murayev supports some of the Kremlin narratives about Ukraine.

Reuters interviewed him and he demanded a change in power in Ukraine. He also blamed the “collective West.” for the wars in the Eastern Donbass. He said the following, echoing Russia’s hostile attitude to the alliance:

“Peace is our goal, not NATO.” If we now ask if there will be a war and that hundreds of thousands die, it seems that the West is trying to use us as a launchpad. I feel that this is contrary our interests.

According to Murayev, he wants Ukraine politically neutral like Switzerland. According to Murayev, Russia placed him under sanctions because of his disagreement with a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician.