MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. The idea of renaming Russia into Muscovy in the Ukrainian language once again proves attempts to create "anti-Russia" from Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

Earlier it was reported that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky tasked Prime Minister Denis Shmygal with "carefully studying" the possibility of renaming Russia to Muscovy in the Ukrainian language.

"The bunker (President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky - TASS) proves that we are right every day. Here is another evidence of an attempt to create an "anti-Russia" from Ukraine," she wrote on her Telegram channel on Saturday, commenting on the instructions of the Ukrainian President.

The instructions came as a response to a petition that gathered 25,000 signatures on Zelensky’s website, and therefore was submitted for consideration to the president of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian President asked Shmygal to study whether the move is possible in the historic and cultural context, and what consequences it may entail in terms of the international law.

The petition also suggests replacing the term ‘Russian Federation’ with the ‘Moscow Federation,’ and the demonym ‘Russian’ with ‘Muscovite.’

A proposal to rename Russia to Muscovy was voiced by the Kiev city council in January 2022, following similar initiatives put forward by regional authorities from the Ukrainian regions of Lvov and Rovno in December 2021.