The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has exposed a group of traitors led by Dmytro Vasilets, who are hiding in Russia while falsely claiming to be Ukraine’s legitimate government. The group has been promoting a plan for Ukraine’s surrender and the establishment of a transitional administration controlled by Russia and the United States.
The SBU has gathered evidence against these individuals, who are working to implement Russian President Vladimir Putin’s vision of external governance over Ukraine. The leader of this group, Vasilets, is the head of the banned party “Derzhava” and already has a prison sentence in absentia for supporting Russian aggression. He and his associates attended a “unity forum” in Moscow alongside Aleksandr Dugin, a key ideologue of Russian fascism, members of the Russian State Duma, and pro Kremlin propagandists.
The forum served as a platform for promoting Putin’s narrative that peace in Ukraine can only be achieved by creating a transitional administration under Russian and American control. The group consists of known pro Russian figures who fled Ukraine before Russia launched its full scale invasion. Among them are Valentyna Rybina, a lawyer for pro Kremlin politician Anatoliy Shariy, and Oleksandr Skubchenko, a so called “political expert” from Viktor Medvedchuk’s propaganda TV channels. Others include former Kyiv resident Oleksandr Semchenko, now in hiding in Russia, and Pavlo Onishchenko, the leader of the pro Kremlin group “Slobozhanska Sich.”
The group has been actively working to spread disinformation and undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty. They created a website designed to mimic official Ukrainian government pages, announced a fake “online referendum” about Ukraine’s future, and developed a fraudulent version of the government’s “Diia” online portal to falsify voting results.
According to SBU case materials, after setting up their anti Ukrainian centre in Moscow, the group received orders from their Russian handlers to establish “branches” in European Union countries. These were meant to act as alternatives to legitimate Ukrainian diplomatic missions.
Based on the evidence collected, the SBU has officially charged the individuals under Article 28, Part 1, and Article 109, Part 1, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. These charges relate to actions aimed at the violent overthrow of the constitutional order or the illegal seizure of state power, as well as conspiring to carry out such acts as part of an organised group.
Efforts are ongoing to bring these individuals to justice for their crimes against Ukraine. The case comes as Ukraine continues to crack down on pro Russian operatives working to destabilise the country from abroad.
This development follows the recent arrest of Kremlin propagandist Igor Molchanov in Poland. Molchanov, who worked for Medvedchuk, was detained and deported to Ukraine, where he is now in pre trial detention.
