Russian lawmaker disputes report saying he adopted a child taken from a Ukrainian children’s home

By EMMA BURROWS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A Russian lawmaker and staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin has denied media allegations that he adopted a 2-year-old girl who was seized from a Ukrainian children’s home and changed her name. Sergey Mironov asserted on social media that the Ukrainian security services and their Western partners concocted a “fake” report to discredit true Russian patriots like himself. His statement followed an investigation published Thursday by the BBC and Russian news organization Important Stories. The outlets said Mironov adopted a child who was allegedly taken to Russia at the age of 10 months by the woman who is now his wife and the couple changed the girl’s name from Margarita to Marina.