By KYIV. Nov 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Oleksandr Dubinsky, former MP Andriy Derkach, and former prosecutor Kostiantyn Kulyk have been notified of suspicion under materials of an evidence base collected by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the State Bureau of Investigation (SBU).
“The Security Service and the SBI collected evidence of high treason committed by a Ukrainian MP who committed informational and subversive activities for the benefit of Russia. According to the investigation, he had a call sign Buratino and was a member of a criminal organization created by the Main Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (also known as the GRU),” the SBU said on its website on Monday.
There is no name of the MP in the SBU’s statement. It is about Oleksandr Dubinsky.
According to the Ukrainian special service, the key task of the organization was to destabilize the socio-political situation in Ukraine and discredit Ukraine on the international stage. Members of the group received money for such activities from Russia’s military intelligence.
“Reportedly, the financing of the network exceeded $10 million,” the SBU said.
The pre-trial investigation documented that the defendant spread fake information about the military and political leadership of Ukraine.
“One of the examples of his disinformation activities was the dissemination of fakes about alleged intrusion of Ukrainian officials into the presidential election in the United States in 2019. To spread pro-Russian narratives, he participated in relevant press conferences,” it said.
It was established that the criminal organization was established by Deputy Head of the Russian GRU Vladimir Alekseyev as an agent network which operated in the capital of Ukraine. Alekseyev’s deputy Aleksey Savin was in charge of operation management of the enemy group from the territory of Russia.
According to the investigation, the enemy group also included former MP Andriy Derkach, who had escaped to Russia on the eve of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“The agent network also included former prosecutor Kostiantyn Kulyk. He has a call sign Ptashka [Bird]. He is currently evading justice abroad. During information sabotage operations against our country, Kulyk was publicly engaged in pseudo-legal justification for fakes in favor of the Kremlin,” the SBU said.
A former assistant to Derkach, Ihor Kolesnykov, who is a former employee of the Soviet-time GRU, coordinated the subversive activities in Kyiv. He has already been convicted and is serving his sentence for high treason, the SBU said.
Based on the collected evidence, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine notified the member of the criminal organization, the MP, of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 111 (high treason) and Part 1 of Article 255 (creation, management of a criminal group or criminal organization and participation in its activities).
Suspicion under the same articles was also reported to Russian GRU officials Alekseyev and Savin, who created the criminal organization and were engaged in perpetration for high treason, and Russian agents Derkach and Kulyk.
The issue of selecting a measure of restraint for the incumbent MP is being considered. The investigation continues to establish all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.
