Ukraine arrests officials on treason charges over Giuliani effort against Hunter Biden

Ukraine’s security services arrested a national lawmaker who previously had ties to Rudy Giuliani on Monday, claiming that he was involved in an intelligence operation on behalf of the Russian government.

Parliament member Oleksandr Dubinsky assisted Giuliani’s 2019 efforts in Ukraine to dig up political dirt against President Biden, specifically regarding his son Hunter Biden’s business in the country.

Dubinsky is accused of treason, as prosecutors allege he and others worked with Russian intelligence services to destabilize Ukrainian politics. 

“The main task of this organization is to shake the socio-political situation in Ukraine and discredit our state in the international arena,” Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) said in a statement. “For this, the group received money from military intelligence of the [Russian Federation.]”

The network Dubinsky belonged to received more than $10 million for their work, Ukrainian security services said.

Citing their investigation, SBU said that Dubinsky’s involvement in the scheme included spreading misinformation about the 2020 presidential election.

“As part of the pretrial investigation, it was documented that the suspect was spreading fakes about the higher military and political leadership of our country,” SBU said, adding that he spread “fakes about the alleged interference of Ukrainian high-ranking officials” in the U.S. 2020 presidential election.

Former member of parliament Andriy Derkach and former prosecutor Kostiantyn Kulyk were also implicated in the scheme. 

Dubinsky, Derkach and Kulyk were among seven Ukrainians sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2021 for being part of a Russian misinformation ring that attempted to smear Biden in 2019.

The Treasury Department said Dubinsky’s involvement was “designed to perpetuate these and other false narratives and denigrate U.S. presidential candidates and their families.”

Both Derkach and Kulyk fled the country, SBU said, long before the indictment. If convicted, the charges carry a 15-year sentence.

Dubinsky confirmed on Telegram that he had been charged and pleaded his innocence.

“I’m to be held in custody until Jan. 12, 2024 — that’s called ‘New Year in a detention facility,’” he said Tuesday.