(Reuters) – Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky has been formally notified that he is suspected of treason for allegedly spreading misinformation about the political leadership and cooperation with Russia’s military intelligence, officials said on Monday.
Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, on Monday said on the Telegram messaging app that a politician was under suspicion, but did not name the suspect.
Lawmaker Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, first deputy head of the parliamentary committee on anti-corruption policy and lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko both named Dubinsky, also on Telegram.
“Dubinsky received a (notice of) suspicion of state treason. He was searched today,” Honcharenko said.
In his own post on Telegram, Dubinsky called the notice of suspicion fabricated and “based on the absolute lies of top state officials”.
The lawmaker was expelled from the ruling Servant of the People party in 2021 after he was put on a U.S. sanctions list over alleged election meddling. He denied those accusations and continued to work in parliament.
The SBU said the suspect was a member of a criminal organisation, financed by Russia’s military intelligence.
The criminal organisation was created in 2016 and included as well an ex-lawmaker, their aide, and an ex-prosecutor.
“It is established that on the instructions of the Russian special services, it organized events to discredit the image of Ukraine in the international arena in order to worsen diplomatic relations with the United States and complicate Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and NATO,” the State Investigative Bureau said in a separate statement published on its website.
In January 2021, The United States imposed sanctions on several Ukrainian individuals and entities, including Dubinsky, accusing them of U.S. election interference and associating with a pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker linked to efforts by then President Donald Trump’s allies to dig up dirt on President Joe Biden and his son.
Ukraine has launched a criminal investigation into the case.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
