Groysman's interpreter collected information on instructions of Russian intelligence

Stanislav Yezhov, an assistant and interpreter of Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, who was detained on suspicion of high treason on December 20, collected information about foreign trips of the Ukrainian prime minister on the instructions of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has said.

"The [SBU's] main investigation department, in the course of criminal proceedings, documented the activities of an employee of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, who, in fulfilment of the tasks of representatives of the Russian special services, namely the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, collected official information of the Cabinet of Ministers, in particular, regarding foreign trips and foreign negotiations of the Ukrainian prime minister, which, during personal meetings and using e-mail, he transferred to representatives of the Russian special services," the deputy head of the SBU's main investigation department, Vitaliy Mayakov, said in a video released on the SBU's Youtube channel on Thursday.

At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that the detained official had been charged with high treason (Part 1, Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), rather than espionage.

"This form of high treason, unlike espionage, does not foresee that the information that is transferred to foreign special services must contain state secrets," Mayakov said.

As reported, late on December 20, counterintelligence officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) exposed an official from the Ukrainian Cabinet's secretariat for activities in the interests of the aggressor country's special services, the SBU press center has reported.

"Law enforcement agents found that the official had been recruited by the Russian special services during an extensive trip abroad. The SBU agents documented that the official followed Russian supervisors' instructions and collected information about the Ukrainian government's activities, using special equipment," the report said on Wednesday evening.

The collected information was delivered to the supervisors via electronic communications channels.

Criminal proceedings were opened pursuant to Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason). The punishment is imprisonment for a period from 12 to 15 years, with or without confiscation of property.

According to the Ukrainian media, Yezhov was accompanying Groysman to every international meeting and on every trip. The media also said that Yezhov used to work at the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States, the Ukrainian presidential administration and the Verkhovna Rada office.