WARSAW -- Ukrainian opposition activist Borys Tarasyuk told Poland's parliament on Thursday that Russian commandos are in Kiev and might clash with demonstrators, but Moscow dismissed the accusation as nonsense.
Tarasyuk, a close aide to liberal opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who says he was robbed of victory in last Sunday's election by large-scale fraud, said Russian commandos are near presidential buildings.
In Kiev, there was no evidence that such forces were being deployed, though rumors suggesting that have circulated for days.
"Some 800 Russian spetsnaz troops, perhaps as much as 1,000, are in Ukraine armed to their teeth," said Tarasyuk, a former foreign minister. "Spetsnaz are preparing to meet the Ukrainian people in the heart of Ukraine, in its capital. ... Our deputies saw first hand spetsnaz troops at the presidential administrative building, armed with machine guns and live ammunition."
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov denied the charge. "I should thank the authors of this nonsense for good PR for the Russian spetsnaz," he told Itar-Tass. "It's the invention of people ... consciously trying to make people think it is true and to destabilize the situation."
Tarasyuk was one of the first foreigners who is not a head of state to address the Polish parliament -- a sign of support from Polish politicians who fear Ukraine could fall under Moscow's control as during the communist era.
Tarasyuk, a close aide to liberal opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who says he was robbed of victory in last Sunday's election by large-scale fraud, said Russian commandos are near presidential buildings.
In Kiev, there was no evidence that such forces were being deployed, though rumors suggesting that have circulated for days.
"Some 800 Russian spetsnaz troops, perhaps as much as 1,000, are in Ukraine armed to their teeth," said Tarasyuk, a former foreign minister. "Spetsnaz are preparing to meet the Ukrainian people in the heart of Ukraine, in its capital. ... Our deputies saw first hand spetsnaz troops at the presidential administrative building, armed with machine guns and live ammunition."
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov denied the charge. "I should thank the authors of this nonsense for good PR for the Russian spetsnaz," he told Itar-Tass. "It's the invention of people ... consciously trying to make people think it is true and to destabilize the situation."
Tarasyuk was one of the first foreigners who is not a head of state to address the Polish parliament -- a sign of support from Polish politicians who fear Ukraine could fall under Moscow's control as during the communist era.