Pro-Russian Ukrainian MP arrested on suspicion of treason

On 6 September, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General detained a member of the 9th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) from the pro-Russian Opposition Platform – For Life party, which is banned in Ukraine. The MP was wanted on suspicion of treason.

Source: SSU; Office of the Prosecutor General

Details: Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement say the detainee is Fedir Khrystenko, who was due to be extradited from Dubai.

The investigation suggests that the suspect was recruited by the FSB long before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was actively working for the Russian secret service.

The case file says he established "an effective mechanism of influence on the leadership of one of Ukraine's law enforcement agencies".

The MP was detained on 6 September and taken to court, which remanded him in custody as a pre-trial restriction measure.

Background:

• On 21 July, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office announced that they had exposed Khrystenko for treason. The case files indicate that he is a top agent of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and was responsible for increasing Russian influence on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
• On 6 August, Ukrainska Pravda reported that SSU officers were seeking evidence from Khrystenko against NABU detectives who featured in an SSU operation to "neutralise Russian influence" on anti-corruption bodies.
• In December 2023, Skhemy, an investigative journalism project, discovered that Khrystenko had left Ukraine on 14 February 2022 and was living in a 173-sq-m apartment in the UAE.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!