Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) exposed an underground cell of the Russian organization "Drugaya Ukraina" in Kyiv, which was created by Viktor Medvedchuk, accused of high treason, and former Ukrainian journalist Denys Zharkikh.
This was reported by SBU.
According to the investigation, an agent group was working on the project in Kyiv, which was preparing information sabotage against Ukraine. The suspects distributed videos discrediting the Defense Forces, calling on Ukrainians to lay down their arms and surrender to the occupiers. For this, they set up an underground studio in the Kyiv region.
SBU claims that the suspects sent ready-made videos to the Russian curator, Denis Zharkikh, a former presenter on Medvedchuk channels and director of the “Drugaya Ukraina” project.
The suspects then distributed these videos on platforms controlled by Medvedchuk, in particular on the "Drugaya Ukraina" website, pages in social networks and on the YouTube platform. According to the investigation, the suspects received money from Russia for each video: in Kyiv, a close relative of the director of the organization "Drugaya Ukraina" personally handed over the cash to them.
During searches, computers and mobile phones with evidence of "subversive activities in favor of the Russian Federation" were found in the suspectsʼ residences. Two participants in the case were suspected of treason. In addition, Denys Zharkikh was also charged with the same article.
- In July 2023, Victor Medvedchuk, accused of high treason, and former Ukrainian journalist Denys Zharkikh founded the political project "Drugaya Ukraina" and registered it in Russia. And already in December of the same year, a branch of the organization appeared in Serbia.
- In Russia, "Drugaya Ukraina" conducts anti-Ukrainian activities. For example, in July 2023 in the House of the Russian Abroad named after Solzhenitsyn attended the round table "Ukrainian Russophobia: Origins and Overcoming Mechanisms". The basis for discussions was Medvedchukʼs article "Two Ukraines as a new political reality."