After searches by SBU and SBI, the MP Oleksandr Dubinskyi was charged with treason (Part 1, Article 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code). He is accused of informational and subversive activities in favor of the Russian Federation.
This is written by the press service of SBU and SBI.
The investigation established that Dubinskyi had the call sign "Buratino" and was part of an organization formed by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU), namely: Deputy Chief of the GRU Volodymyr Alekseev. The operational management of the group was handled by his deputy — Oleksiy Savin.
The main task of the organization was to destabilize the socio-political situation in Ukraine and discredit it in the international arena. Funding of the organization reached more than $10 million.
Law enforcement officers documented that Dubinskyi spread fakes about Ukraineʼs top military and political leadership, in particular, he wrote about the alleged interference of Ukrainian high-ranking officials in the 2019 US presidential election.
In addition to the MP Oleksandr Dubinskyi, the organization included former MP Andriy Derkach, who is currently abroad, and former prosecutor Kostyantyn Kulyk, nicknamed "Bird", who is also outside Ukraine. Kostyantyn Kulyk is accused of public "substantiation" of fakes in favor of the Kremlin.
The organizationʼs subversive activities in Kyiv were coordinated by Derkachʼs ex-assistant, a former employee of the GRU during the USSR, Ihor Kolesnikov, who is serving a sentence for treason.
The Prosecutor General of Ukraine informed Oleksandr Dubinsky about the suspicion under two articles of the CCU:
- Part 1 of Art. 111 (treason);
- Part 1 of Art. 255 (creation, management of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it).
According to these articles, Alekseev, Savin, Derkach and Kulik were also informed of suspicion. All face up to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
"Derkachʼs Films"
In May-July 2020, the MP Andriy Derkach released audio materials that, according to him, may indicate the influence of former US Vice President Joe Biden on the fifth President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko during his tenure.
According to Derkach, we are talking about two parts of the records. The first concerns the allocation of a billion dollars by the United States in exchange for the dismissal of the Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, during which the GPU investigated the case of Burisma, the company where Bidenʼs son worked.
The second part of the records allegedly refers to the fact that Poroshenko, despite the absence of a coalition in the parliament, blocked the dismissal of the Cabinet of Ministers and the appointment of early elections to the Verkhovna Rada. Also, according to Derkach, the audio recordings talk about Bidenʼs influence on the supervisory boards of large state-owned enterprises.
- In September 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions against four people suspected of meddling in the presidential election with the support of the Russian government. Ukrainian MP Andriy Derkach is among them. At the time, the Kremlin reacted to this by calling Derkachʼs involvement in the Russian special services "nonsense."
- The US Ministry of Justice also suspects Peopleʼs Deputy Derkach of financial crimes.
- Derkach was suspected of treason in Ukraine. According to the investigation, the MP received at least $567 000 from Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies for subversive activities against Ukraine for the period 2019-2022 — it is about discrediting Ukraine on the international stage, worsening diplomatic relations with the United States of America, and complicating Ukraineʼs integration into European Union and NATO. He was declared wanted on September 16, 2022
- On January 11, 2021, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against seven individuals and four entities for interfering in the US election. Dubinsky was among them. Sanctions were introduced because of Derkachʼs films.
- On February 1, 2021, Dubinskyi was expelled from the "Servant of the People" faction, and on March 14, he was removed from the post of head of the Kyiv regional organization "Servant of the People".
- On November 6, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv sent the MP Oleksandr Dubinskyi, who is suspected of organizing a scheme to travel abroad, under 24-hour house arrest. He was also handed a report on an administrative offense related to corruption.