Russia accused the Ukrainian government of sabotaging Donald Trump's presidential bid by blasting him on social media and trying to link one of his close associates to a corruption scandal, Politico reports.
The Russian Foreign Ministry maintains Ukraine hampered the Trump campaign by implicating his then-campaign manager Paul Manafort in a political controversy involving a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party, according to the website.
"Ukraine seriously complicated the work of Trump's election campaign headquarters by planting information according to which Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, allegedly accepted money from Ukrainian oligarchs," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Politico noted Manafort had been forced out of the Trump campaign in late August because of mounting press interest in his dealings in Ukraine. But he has been acting as an informal adviser to Trump in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, Democrats have called for an investigation into Russia's involvement in the presidential campaign, believing it damaged Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House.
The Daily Beast is also reporting Russia's Zakharova blasted Ukrainian diplomats for being "uncivilized and rude toward President-elect Donald Trump when he was a presidential candidate."