Andrii Derkach, a fugitive ex-member of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, may be nominated for the Russian Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on July 31.
Derkach is one of three candidates that Astrakhan Oblast Governor Igor Babushkin plans to propose to the Federation Council if he wins the regional elections, which are scheduled for Sept. 6-8.
Members of the council – unofficially called the Russian Senate – are not directly elected in a popular vote but are nominated by regional administrations. In the end, a region can send only two representatives to the Senate: one proposed by the governor and approved by the regional legislature, and another elected by the legislature itself.
The U.S. government has called Derkach "a Russian agent" and sanctioned him in 2022, accusing him of attempted election interference. Kyiv also imposed sanctions against the ex-lawmaker in 2021 and placed him on its wanted list.
According to TASS, Derkach now lives in Astrakhan and has Russian citizenship. President Volodymyr Zelensky revoked Derkach's Ukrainian citizenship in January 2023.
In 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) exposed a Russian agent network in Ukraine, which included Derkach.
The former lawmaker received funds from Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) to create private security structures that Russia planned to use to capture Ukraine. Russia allocated $3-4 million every few months for the purpose, according to law enforcement.
In 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) completed an investigation into suspected treason and illicit enrichment on Derkach's part.
Derkach, a former member of the now-banned pro-Russian Party of Regions, received at least $567,000 from Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies for subversive activities against Ukraine, NABU said.
The politician was supposed to discredit the country at the international level, deteriorate diplomatic relations with the U.S., and hinder Ukraine's integration into the European Union and NATO, according to the investigation.
Olena Goncharova
