The leader fled to Russia during the Revolution of Dignity the last time it happened.
On January 22, British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss made a statement about a possible attempt of the Russian authorities to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv – she named former MP Yevheniy Murayev as a potential candidate.
According to the British ministry, Russian intelligence maintains ties with several Ukrainian politicians, including former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, former deputy prime ministers Serhiy Arbuzov and Andriy Klyuyev, and former deputy head of the National Security Council Volodymyr Sivkovych (all of whom held these positions during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych). Some of those people contacted by Russian intelligence are involved in planning a Russian attack on Ukraine, the British Foreign Office claims.
“Russia must de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy. As the UK and our partners have said repeatedly, any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.”
Reuters notes that Britain’s Foreign Office has provided no proof of the statement. Still, a Foreign Office source told the agency that making intelligence information public is an unusual practice for the UK and that it was only declassified after robust verification.
Murayev, whom Britain considers a potential pro-Russian leader, was a member of the Party of Regions, then of Opposition Platform – For Life and Opposition Bloc, and leader of the ‘Nashi’ party. He was one of the presidential candidates in the 2019 elections (when he withdrew in favor of another Opposition Bloc candidate). He owns the TV channel “Nash.” In 2014-2018 he owned the TV channel “NewsOne.” Russia imposed personal sanctions against him in late 2018. Murayev is now critical of incumbent Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and previous President Petro Poroshenko. In a December poll about possible candidates in the 2024 presidential election, 6.3% of Ukrainians who had decided on a candidate said they would vote for Murayev (whereas 24% voted for Zelensky and 16% voted for Poroshenko; in the second round, the vote would be split 50/50 between them).
Murayev has not yet commented on Truss’s statement but only posted a collage of himself on Facebook in the image of James Bond. In a comment to Strana.UA, he urged to ask Britain how his role as a potential pro-Russian leader fits in with the Russian sanctions against him. The Russian Foreign Ministry called Truss’ statement “disinformation” and “provocative activity.” It accused “NATO led by the Anglo-Saxons” of escalating tensions around Ukraine (to whose borders Russia is pulling troops).
Viktor Yanukovych was Ukraine’s former pro-Russian president. His U-turn from European integration to integration with Russia in 2013 sparked protests that turned into Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity. After the shooting of protesters (those killed are known as the Heavenly Hundred), Yanukovich fled to Russia, and Russia, taking advantage of the confusion, occupied Ukrainian Crimea, and supported pro-Russian separatists in the self-proclaimed DNR and LNR in eastern Ukraine.
