The HACC questioned one of the key witnesses in the case against former MP Andrii Derkach, who is charged with state treason. The witness is Derkach’s former assistant, Ihor Kolesnikov, who later held a position at the state-owned company Energoatom. According to the SSU, Kolesnikov also used to work for Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU). He reached a plea agreement in his own case. It was Kolesnikov who introduced Derkach to the Russian intelligence officer who was handing over funds for information attacks against Ukraine.
According to Kolesnikov, it was Aleksei Savin, an assistant to the First Deputy Head of the Russian GRU, Vladimir Alekseev, who instructed him to receive the “packages” containing money for Derkach. Although Savin never explicitly said they were “for Derkach,” the witness understood who the money was meant for. The funds were always delivered in hard currency, in large amounts, after Kolesnikov gave a specific code word.
Kolesnikov described Derkach as “a very cautious person,” which is why he never handed the money to him directly. Instead, the cash was collected by someone else, and the handovers were coordinated by the brother of Derkach’s ex-wife. The sums varied each time and kept increasing. On one occasion, the witness was asked to bring a backpack to carry $500,000.
The SAPO has charged Andrii Derkach with high treason. According to the investigation, between 2019 and 2022, he received at least $567,000 from Russian intelligence agencies and used the funds for information campaigns aimed at undermining Ukraine, including efforts to derail European integration and damage relations with Western partners. His case has been under review at HACC since December 2023.