September, Friday 20, 2024

Ukraine announces charges against officials linked to investigation on Hunter Biden and Russia


tVlbegtfyIt70gt.png

Three Ukrainians who were involved in assisting the Donald Trump campaign in discrediting the Biden family have been charged with treason. Led by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was Trump's personal lawyer at the time, the campaign focused on unproven allegations of corruption involving Joe Biden and Ukraine during his tenure as vice-president. The Ukraine Security Service (SBU) stated that the three individuals were paid by Russian military intelligence (GRU) and exploited the tense political climate to damage Ukraine's international reputation. The accused individuals include current MP Oleksandr Dubinsky, former lawmaker Andriy Derkach, and ex-prosecutor Kostyantyn Kulyk. Dubinsky denied the charges and they are believed to be part of a network led by Russian General Vladimir Alekseyev. The charges allege that they engaged in activities related to the 2020 US election, spreading false information that Ukraine, rather than Russia, interfered in the election. The allegations against Joe Biden revolved around his son Hunter's business dealings with Ukrainian company Burisma. Trump and his allies claimed that Biden influenced the firing of Ukraine's top prosecutor to protect Burisma. Hunter Biden has filed a lawsuit against Giuliani for invading his privacy while searching for damaging information about the Biden family. Although Ukrainian authorities did not explicitly identify Dubinsky, he admitted his involvement on Telegram and criticized President Zelensky's office for political persecution. If convicted, Dubinsky faces 15 years in prison and asset forfeiture. Derkach and Kulyk fled Ukraine after Russia's invasion in 2022. All three individuals were previously sanctioned by the US government for their alleged efforts to undermine the 2020 US election. Mr. Derkach was identified as a Russian agent by the Treasury Department and was mentioned in the US Senate Intelligence Committee's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 US election. Derkach and Giuliani met in Ukraine in 2019 to connect Hunter Biden to corruption allegations. They also appeared together in right-wing US media during the 2020 election campaign. Kulyk, during his time as a Ukrainian deputy prosecutor general, wrote a memo in 2019 that called for an investigation into Hunter Biden's involvement with Burisma, alleging that President Joe Biden unlawfully enriched himself. This memo reportedly sparked Giuliani's search for incriminating information in Ukraine. Both Giuliani and Trump faced legal issues in the US due to their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump was impeached by Congressional Democrats for withholding military aid to Ukraine while pressuring President Zelensky, but he was later acquitted in the US Senate with Republican support.