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Ukrainian official concedes country meddled with US elections in past years

According to Ukrainian president's chief of staff Andrey Yermak, today Ukraine is working with the headquarters of both US presidential candidates

MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. The Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, conceded that Ukraine interfered in US elections in previous years.

"Everybody has politics. There's an election going on somewhere. So today, you know we're working with the headquarters of both US presidential candidates. But unlike it unfortunately happened in previous years, we are not meddling," he said in televised remarks.

In January 2021, the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine opened a criminal case after the US Department of the Treasury announced on January 11 that it was imposing sanctions on seven Ukrainian nationals and four media outlets in connection with interference in a US election. Yermak said at the time that the Ukrainian government strongly opposes interference in the affairs of any nation.

According to US officials, the individuals and organizations that were placed under the sanctions were part of a network of influence related to former Ukrainian lawmaker Andrey Derkach. In May 2020, Derkach released audio recordings that he said proved that Joe Biden put pressure on former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, when commenting on the sanctions at the time, said that Ukraine as a country had never meddled in US internal affairs and would not do so.

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