The Servant of the People, the 246-seat parliamentary faction of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, has ruled to expel from its ranks the notorious lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky, following the U.S. government’s announcement of sanctions against Dubinsky over his alleged interference in U.S. presidential elections to advance Russia’s interests.
According to Ukrainska Pravda news outlet, 198 faction members endorsed the decision, with 29 opposing it and 19 abstaining. He will not lose his seat in parliament, however, because he represents a district in Kyiv Oblast. After he’s kicked out, he could remain independent or join one of the other parties.
The vote took place over several days and was announced at the faction’s gathering on the evening on Feb. 1. It is expected to be officially announced in the parliament during the hearing on Feb. 2.
Earlier, Dubinsky refused to leave the faction voluntarily, despite Zelensky asking him to do so during the previous meeting of the faction on Jan. 25. Dubinsky denounced the U.S. sanctions against him and said he never meddled in the U.S. elections.
In an address published on his Telegram channel shortly following the voting, Dubinsky accused the faction of “cowardice and backstabbing,” adding that the decision on his expulsion was “irresponsible, unsubstantiated, immoral, and humiliating towards the country.”
Dubinsky is known to be close to billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, facing lawsuits in an alleged $5.5 billion bank fraud during his ownership of the now state-owned PrivatBank. Before being elected to parliament in 2019, Dubinsky spent nearly 10 years working as a journalist and host at Kolomoisky’s 1+1 TV channel.
Ukrainian media reported that Kolomoisky influences a group of lawmakers within the Servant of the People party who vote in the oligarch’s interests. Dubinsky is the most notorious representative of the group. He has been known to frequently go against the party and criticize its leadership.
Despite that, Dubinsky has enjoyed a strong standing in the party. He was put in charge of the party’s campaign in Kyiv Oblast during the October 2020 local elections, and has been deputy head of an important parliament committee on taxation and finances.
The sanctions
Dubinsky was among other six Ukrainian individuals and four entities blacklisted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for attempting to interfere in its 2020 presidential elections.
All of the newly-sanctioned Ukrainians are linked to Andriy Derkach, an independent lawmaker whom the U.S. Treasury calls a “Russian agent” who has been under American sanctions since September for acting in Russia’s interests and attempting to influence the 2020 elections in the country.
Derkach is a graduate of the KGB Soviet secret police force academy in Moscow. Having no affiliation to any political party now, Derkach was formerly a member of the pro-Russian Party of Regions.
Derkach gained notoriety in Ukraine for aligning with Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, to spread debunked conspiracy theories about the U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s alleged corruption and Ukraine’s interference in the 2016 election on behalf of losing candidate Hillary Clinton.
Dubinsky helped him in spreading the word of disinformation about Biden, according to the U.S. Dubinsky denies it, despite the fact that he posted about Derkach
The U.S. sanctions have started to take effect on Dubinsky’s life. On Jan. 28, YouTube blocked Dubinsky’s channel that had over 300,000 subscribers. Earlier, Dubinsky said that one of the Ukrainian banks, Monobank, wanted to close his account.
