Ukrainian Lawmaker Arrested on Suspicion of Russia-Linked Treason

Facts

• A Ukrainian lawmaker was this week formally notified by authorities that he was under suspicion of treason, according to a video posted on his Telegram channel. Filmed as a member of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) stood behind him, Oleksandr Dubinsky said that a Kyiv court had ordered him detained for 60 days.¹
• In a statement the same day, the SBU did not name Dubinsky but alleged that a Ukrainian politician joined a criminal organization financed by Russian military intelligence. It further alleged that this group received in excess of $10M from Russia and was tasked with spreading disinformation about Ukrainian political and military leadership, including claims that high-ranking Ukrainian officials were interfering in US presidential elections.²
• Two Ukrainian officials confirmed to Reuters that Dubinsky was in fact the subject of the SBU probe. Dubinsky, elected to Ukraine's parliament as a member of the ruling Servant of the People party — led by Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy — was expelled in 2021 after he was put on a US sanctions list on allegations of meddling in elections.¹
• According to reports in US media, Dubinsky had also worked alongside Rudy Giuliani, attorney to former Pres. Donald Trump, in searching for allegations of corruption regarding then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in 2019. During that year, Giuliani met with both Dubinsky and Andrii Derkach, a former Ukrainian politician, while filming a documentary in Kyiv.²
• The SBU this week said that Derkash and Kostyantyn Kulyk, a former Ukrainian prosecutor, have also been charged as part of the alleged criminal organization. According to reports, Derkash and Kulyk are hiding outside of Ukraine.²
• The SBU alleged the organization was formed in 2016 and 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 US and complicate Ukraine's accession to the European Union and NATO.'¹
• Meanwhile, in the video recorded before he was taken to a detention facility, Dubinsky denied the charges against him, alleging they were 'based on the absolute lies of top state officials.'¹

Sources: ¹Reuters and ²Newsweek.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Newsweek. The three Ukrainians charged by the SBU of receiving funding from Russian intelligence to carry out their subversive activities were key allies of Trump-ally Rudy Giuliani. This is just further evidence of the Trump campaign's collusion with Russia.
• Right narrative, as provided by The Hill. Rudy Giuliani had contacted these three Ukrainians to find evidence of corruption in the country on the part of then-Vice Pres. Joe Biden and his son Hunter, then on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. Republicans are further investigating these allegations in the House. These charges smell of political persecution.

Predictions