Oleksandr Dubinskyi in the case of former MP Andrii Derkach, who is accused of high treason, collaboration with Russian intelligence services, and illicit enrichment.
The court granted the defence’s motion to question Dubinskyi as a witness and altered the order of evidence examination. Dubinskyi insisted on testifying in Russian, citing the Constitution of Ukraine. The judge did not object, and the MP also took the oath in Russian.
Dubinskyi testified that he had known Derkach only situationally since 2019 and had no personal relations with him. He said their only joint activity was a press conference held in autumn 2019. According to him, his participation was solely related to the initiative to create a temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada to examine financial abuses by Petro Poroshenko’s circle and the activities of the NBU.
The MP claimed that the idea of cooperating with Derkach and establishing the commission was promoted by the Presidential Office, and that then-presidential aide Andrii Yermak, now Head of the Office, allegedly came to him personally to discuss the initiative. He stressed that at the press conference he referred only to publicly available information and materials provided by official bodies.
Dubinskyi denied any coordination with Derkach beyond preparing for the joint appearance. He stated he had not received money from him and had no financial arrangements with him. He also said that as MPs, they jointly sent letters to the U.S. Congress, but these concerned corruption schemes of Ukrainian officials and did not relate to Burisma or Hunter Biden.
Separately, Dubinskyi claimed that his participation in the press conference with Derkach was the reason a criminal case was opened against him in 2023, followed by charges of state treason. He also alleged that the authorities tried to persuade him to voluntarily leave the Servant of the People faction and take responsibility in order to avoid tensions with the new U.S. administration.
During his questioning, Dubinskyi repeatedly criticized the Ukrainian authorities, accused law enforcement of being under political control, and sought to shift responsibility for his joint actions with Derkach onto the country’s leadership.
At the end, he handed over several documents to the defense for inclusion in the case file.
Former MP Andrii Derkach is accused of high treason and illicit enrichment. According to the investigation, between 2019 and 2022 he received at least USD 567,000 from Russian intelligence services to organize information campaigns against Ukraine, aimed at discrediting the state internationally, complicating integration into the EU and NATO, and worsening relations with the United States. He is charged under Article 111(1) and Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In addition, the SSU links Derkach to a GRU agent network and to financing private security companies to prepare for the occupation of Ukrainian cities.
Oleksandr Dubinskyi is also suspected of high treason. According to the SSU and SBI, under the codename “Buratino” he engaged in information-sabotage activities in Russia’s interests and was part of an organization that destabilised the socio-political situation in Ukraine and discredited the state internationally. He is currently held in pre-trial detention.