The statements of MP, member of the Servant of the People faction Oleksandr Dubinsky that the Center for Combating Corruption is behind the U.S. sanctions against him are an attempt to discredit the sanctions and do not correspond to reality, an informed source in diplomatic circles told Interfax-Ukraine.

"Dubinsky says that the sanctions are the result of a discrediting campaign initiated by the Center for Combating Corruption, that it is slander by the center. This narrative is a very clear attempt to undermine the validity of the sanctions. Since, if he says that only one non-governmental organization in Ukraine caused the sanctions, because of this they look unreasonable, less reliable and unimportant. But the truth is that the U.S. Department of the Treasury relies on a wide variety of non-classified and classified sources for its decisions," the source said.

According to the source, the United States could track Dubinsky's activities long before the information from the Center for Combating Corruption appeared. "I have nothing against the Center for Combating Corruption, it is a good organization, it is very reliable and does important work. But he uses them, trying to undermine the validity of this investigation and sanctions," the source said.

In addition, the source said what Dubinsky had done was said in a press release due to the imposition of sanctions.

"They did research that has classified and unclassified sources. But the narrative he is spreading that he just held a press conference and is now defamed by an NGO is untrue. He was actively involved in spreading the conspiracy theory and called for an investigation into candidate for the U.S. presidency," the agency's interlocutor said.

The source said the sanctions were based on the 2018 U.S. presidential decree calling for sanctions against those who interfere in the U.S. elections.

Interfax-Ukraine has information that, despite this decree, on December 2, 2019, Derkach and Dubinsky wrote letters to Senators Lindsey Graham, Mick Mulvaney and Devin Nunes, seeking to create an "inter-parliamentary group" to "stop corruption." Derkach announced this group on Facebook on December 5, 2019, which Dubinsky was a member of, and said that he was eager to work with the Americans.

"It is like standing and shouting, 'please investigate me' for meddling in the U.S. elections," the source said.

It is also known that the visit of former Mayor of New York, lawyer of the 45th President of the United States (2017-2021) Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine took place at about the same time, on December 5, and in the NBC news about his efforts Dubinsky is directly mentioned as one of his aides, who "digs up dirt on the opponents of the president [Trump]."

The source said that Dubinsky's assertions that the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine is meeting with representatives of the Servant of the People party and putting forward any demands to them do not correspond to reality. "Mr. Dubinsky continues to say that the U.S. Embassy calls on Servants of the People to make demands either to 'surrender' Dubinsky, or on how he should be expelled from the party. This is fabrication of information, an attempt to create the illusion that the United States is trying from outside control Ukraine and the Servant of the People party. The truth is that they asked the embassy representatives to come to Parkova [Street] to tell the Servant of the People leaders and some others about the sanctions process," the source said.