Plot against Kiev?
Putin’s alleged puppet government: Alleged chief of traitors laughs at allegations
The Kremlin gentleman loves the macho poses.
© Mikhail Metzel / Picture Alliance
Boris Johnson’s government claims that Putin has already assembled a cabinet to take power in Kiev. The alleged head of the traitor government spoke to British media and laughed at the allegations.
The British government claims it has evidence of a Putin conspiracy. A pro-Russian puppet government is to be installed in Kiev, even names have been mentioned. But the British press is skeptical, the “Guardian” complains that the statement does not give any other details. The Johnson government is under a lot of pressure because of the party affair. So there is the suspicion that she might want to distract from her own scandals with this revelation.
name but little content
In an unusual move, Secretary of State Liz Truss on Saturday released intelligence information naming Yevgeny Murayev, a former Ukrainian MP, as the Kremlin’s preferred candidate to take over the country after an invasion. Truss also named four former Ukrainian ministers who are said to be working with Russian intelligence officers. Sergey Arbuzov, Andrei Klyuyev, Volodymyr Sivkovich and Mykola Azarov.
Four of the five alleged collaborators are known opponents of the government in Kiev and currently live in exile in Moscow. The Guardian writes that it can be assumed that they are in contact with Russian government agencies, and not a revelation. Sergei Arbuzov was the head of the National Bank of Ukraine and the country’s prime minister for a short time in 2014. Andrei Kluyev was also a close political associate of deposed President Yanukovych. He is under international sanctions, but nevertheless tried to be admitted to the 2019 election in Ukraine. Ultimately unsuccessfully. Volodymyr Sivkovich is a former deputy secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and is said to have close ties to Russia’s FSB secret service. Mykola Azarov was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014 and is considered a close confidante of Yanukovych. So all five come from the political milieu of former President Yanukovych.
Murayev denies allegations
The traitor government is said to be led by Yevgeny Murayev, says the British secret service. Murayev owns a major television station in Ukraine and is at odds with the government in Kiev, which accuses him of pro-Russian propaganda. In 2019, he ran for the presidency of Ukraine before dropping out of the running to support another pro-Russian candidate. Overall, the pro-Russian parties performed so disappointingly that they are unlikely to play a major political role in Ukraine in the years to come.
Murayev now spoke to the “Observer” and had to laugh at the allegations. “You saved my evening. The British Foreign Office seems to be misinformed,” said the former Ukrainian MP. “It’s not very logical. I’m banned from Russia. Not only that, my father’s company money was confiscated.” In fact, Murayev has been under Russian sanctions for a little over three years. In a Order of the Russian President of November 1, 2018 he was put on the list of people and institutions subject to economic sanctions: precisely, it is about freezing assets, securities and property on the territory of the Russian Federation and prohibiting the transfer of funds (withdrawal of capital) from Russia. There is no mention of a formal banishment in the order.
Murayev told the Telegraph: “If I haven’t overlooked anything, Russia has another candidate and they don’t even hide him. I’m a patriot of my country.” This refers to Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch with close personal ties to Putin. The Russian President is said to be the godfather of his daughter. Medvedchuk has often been referred to as a “mediator” in the past.
Complete invasion
Security experts say the intelligence, if accurate, describes the “somberest of scenarios,” a “full-scale decapitation strategy.” Vasyl Filipchuk, a former spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, even called the allegations “ridiculous” in an interview with the “Guardian”. Moscow has no way of bringing pro-Russian actors to power. “This scenario would only work if Kiev were occupied by a full-scale invasion,” he explained. “The city would be decimated, the country would be burned and a million people would flee. We have 100,000 armed people in the capital who will fight… There may be such a plan, but it’s bullshit.”