Russia’s top diplomat and a spokesman for Vladimir Putin have called a recent report that the Russian president was “personally involved” in attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election complete “nonsense.”

"I was astonished when I saw it. I think, this is nothing but nonsense, there is not a chance that anybody could believe that," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, according to state news agency TASS. Lavrov previously has denied that Russia interfered with the U.S. election, though the Obama administration claimed in October that the country was behind multiple hacks, including a breach of the Democratic National Committee.

The new report – initially published Wednesday by NBC News – states that according to two anonymous senior U.S. intelligence officials, “Putin personally directed how hacked material from Democrats was leaked and otherwise used.”

It is the latest development in an ongoing saga swirling around U.S.-Russia relations and Moscow’s alleged intrusion into the U.S. electoral process, which even after the presidential contest has touched everything from President-elect Donald Trump’s formal installation by the Electoral College to his nomination of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state.

The Kremlin also formally denied the NBC report, with presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov knocking it "as ludicrous nonsense" without “any grounds."

Democrats, along with senior Republicans in Congress such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have expressed support for a formal investigation into Russia’s activities, spurred by U.S. intelligence officials’ conclusion that Moscow sought to sway the contest in Trump’s favor.

Trump, meanwhile, has questioned that conclusion. He posited that the White House waited to "complain" about Russian involvement until after he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton, despite the administration's public blaming of Russia a month before the presidential contest.

Unless you catch "hackers" in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016

If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016

“You don't know it, I don't know it,” incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday regarding Russia trying to affect the election. “There's been no conclusive or specific report to say otherwise. So that's the first thing. The second thing I would tell you is that you don't have any proof that the outcome of the election was changed. Forget about who did the hacking.”