WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 - Haley Barbour, former Republican Party leader and Mississippi governor, has been hired by the Ukrainian government to lobby U.S. politicians, according to documents filed this week, Reuters reported.

The hiring of Barbour and his lobbying firm BGR Group comes at a time when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's public embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased worries in Washington that the new administration may side with Russia in the Ukrainian dispute.