Ukraine arrests the main ally of the ex-lawyer of Trump, is accused of treason

2023-11-15 14:22:22Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Ukraine arrests the main ally of the ex-lawyer of Trump, is accused of treason
Rudy Giuliani and Oleksandr Dubinsky

A Ukrainian lawmaker who in 2019 helped former US President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani in his quest to gather evidence against Joe and Hunter Biden has been charged with treason.

Oleksandr Dubinsky, along with former Ukrainian MP Andriy Derkach and former prosecutor Kostyantyn Kulyk, had joined an organization formed by the heads of Russia's Military Intelligence (GRU), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement. the moon.

Although the SBU did not name the deputy in the statement, attached photos and video footage identify Dubinsky, whose nickname, "Buratino," is taken from a character in the 1930s Soviet book "Pinocchio."

Dubinsky met with Giuliani during his visit to Kiev in December 2019, while the former New York City mayor was filming a documentary aimed at discrediting an impeachment inquiry into Trump.

"The main task of this organization was to take advantage of the tense political situation in Ukraine and discredit our state in the international arena. For this, the group received money from Russian military intelligence. The financing amounted to more than 10 million dollars, "said the SBU.

According to the SBU, Dubinsky, led by the GRU, spread fake news about Ukraine's military and political leadership, including claims that high-ranking Ukrainian officials were meddling in the US presidential election. The SBU said the Ukrainian group was led by GRU deputy head Vladimir Alekseyev and his deputy Oleksiy Savin.

If convicted, Dubinsky faces up to 15 years in prison and confiscation of his assets, the SBU added. Both Derkach and Kulyk have now fled the country.

Dubinsky denied wrongdoing and called the investigation against him political persecution in a statement on Telegram on Friday.

In October and November 2019, Dubinsky and Derkach held several press conferences in Kiev in which they claimed that based on an investigation by Kulyk, they had uncovered corruption and money laundering schemes related to Burisma, a gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board of directors.

They also alleged that US investment funds were involved in money laundering in Ukraine.

In 2020, the US Treasury sanctioned Derkach as a Russian agent subverting America's political system. In 2021, Dubinsky and Kulyk were also sanctioned by the US as foreign actors involved in spreading fraudulent allegations involving a US political candidate.


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