MP Yevhenii Shevchenko was charged with treason. The law enforcement officers accused him of "damaging the defense capability and information security of Ukraine."
The State Bureau of Investigation does not specify the name of the person involved, but the sources of "Babel" note that it is about Shevchenko.
Psycholinguistic and military expertise showed that the deputy began to harm Ukraineʼs defense capabilities and information security even before the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. So, in 2021, he published unreliable information about the absence of a threat of a full-scale invasion of Russia from the territory of Belarus.
He also spoke about the incorrectness and impracticality of Ukraineʼs current external and internal political course. The Peopleʼs Deputy discredited the current government, distorting the facts and events in the country, and publicly called for a change in the borders of the territory and the state border of Ukraine.
In addition, the deputy said on his channels and in interviews with pro-Russian bloggers and experts that the Ukrainian authorities had brought the country to a complete collapse, lost territories and people, and were unable to achieve peace. Also, the Peopleʼs Deputy imposed the opinion that Ukraine is no longer capable of winning and must enter into negotiations with Russia under any conditions. This content was then distributed to propagandist Russian media to create the impression in Russia that it was the official position of a representative of the Ukrainian authorities.
He also tried to discredit Western partners and European values. In particular, he said that the West interferes not only in the internal affairs of Ukraine and caused a war in the country, but also tries to undermine stability in Georgia and Moldova.
The investigation also established his contacts with representatives of the embassy of Belarus after he entered the parliament rostrum with the flag of this country in September 2020. He repeatedly traveled to Belarus, where he met with representatives of business and political structures, and even with the countryʼs self-proclaimed president, Lukashenko.
According to the investigation, under the protection of Lukashenka, the deputy and his close relatives conducted active business with representatives of Belarus. Buying goods there at discounted prices, they brought them to Ukraine through another European country and sold them at a much higher price.
The "assistance regime" from the Belarusian authorities allowed the deputy to receive €1.5 million in net profit in half a year. At the same time, he was able to transfer only €500,000 to Ukraine — the rest could not be obtained due to the blocking of questionable transactions by the financial monitoring of one of the European banks.
It was also recorded that during this time, the deputy purchased and registered three luxury cars with a total value of $500,000 for relatives.
The deputy is suspected of committing high treason under Art. 1 Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of up to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
- Shevchenko entered the parliament in 2019 from the Servant of the People party. In May 2021, he was expelled from the faction after the peopleʼs deputy flew to Minsk to meet with Lukashenka, although Ukraine does not recognize him as the legitimate president of Belarus.
- In addition to the fact that Shevchenko supports the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Oleksandr Lukashenka, he also welcomed the arrest of oppositionist Roman Protasevich. Shevchenko himself repeatedly asked to exclude him from the faction.
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