Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky arrested for treason

The deputy is suspected of working for Russia and interfering in U.S. elections

A Kyiv court has placed Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) deputy and former journalist Oleksandr Dubinsky under arrest for a period of two months on suspicion of state treason.

According to Ukraine’s Security Service, Dubinsky, using the code name “Buratino,” worked for a covert network set up by Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), carrying out “information-subversion activities favoring Russia” since at least 2019. Ukrainian intelligence reported that the network’s tasks included “destabilizing the socio-political situation in Ukraine and discrediting the country in the international arena.”

The network was allegedly founded by GRU deputy head Vladimir Alekseyev. His deputy, Alexey Savin, reportedly managed operations, while former Soviet-era GRU officer Ihor Kolesnikov coordinated the network in Kyiv. In addition to Dubinsky, the network included former parliamentary deputy Andriy Derkach and former military prosecutor Konstantin Kulik. More than $10 million were allocated to financing the network.

According to the Ukrainian outlet Babel, Dubinsky regularly posted about the difficult economic situation and corruption in Ukraine on his Telegram channel (often without proof) between 2019 and 2021. His messages were reposted by the channel Resident, which is connected to the GRU. Dubinsky also reposted the GRU’s Telegram posts.

In 2019, leading up to the U.S. presidential election, Dubinsky and Derkach held a press conference in Kyiv. They accused Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, of money laundering through the energy company Burisma, and Ukrainian officials of embezzling U.S. aid. According to The New York Times, this was Dubinsky’s attempt to help Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani link Biden’s family to corruption in Ukraine. As Kolesnikov later admitted during interrogations with Ukraine’s Security Service, Alekseyev instructed him to organize the press conference. In May 2022, Kolesnikov was sentenced to 15 years in prison for state treason.

In January 2021, the U.S. introduced sanctions against Dubinsky for interfering in its elections. The National Bank of Ukraine ordered the deputy’s accounts not to be serviced. His YouTube channel, which had 350,000 followers, was blocked. One month later, Dubinsky was expelled from the president’s faction in the Verkhovna Rada and the ruling Servant of the People party.

In August 2023, the deputy was suspected of forging documents and illegally traveling abroad. As established by the investigation, Dubinsky received permission to travel to accompany his father for treatment. However, his father was found to have traveled to a foreign clinic by himself, while Dubinsky went on vacation. Then, in early November, Dubinsky was charged with organizing the illegal transfer of third parties posing as volunteers abroad. He was put under house arrest under a law that carries a prison sentence of up to seven years.

On November 13, Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies conducted new searches of Dubinsky’s house as part of the treason case, seizing the deputy’s cell phone and laptop. He was ordered to be held without bail until January 12, 2024. According to the law on state treason, he faces up to 15 years in prison and the confiscation of his property. Dubinsky has called the measures persecution for his criticisms of Volodymyr Zelensky and his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.