The Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) has notified former President Petro Poroshenko, currently leader of the European Solidarity party, of being suspected of high treason and facilitating activities of terrorist organizations in a criminal case dealing with a criminal scheme of coal shipments from Donbas territories not controlled by Kyiv, the State Bureau of Investigations said on its Telegram channel on Monday.

"Officers of the State Bureau of Investigations, working together with the Security Service and under procedural guidance from the Prosecutor General's Office, are investigating a criminal case dealing with the organization of a criminal scheme of coal shipments from the temporarily occupied territories and the facilitation of the terrorist organizations LPR and DPR [the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics] by a group of Ukrainian citizens, worth in total about 1.5 million hryvni. The fifth president of Ukraine is suspected of facilitating activities of the terrorist organizations LPR and DPR, acting in collusion with a group of persons, particularly including representatives of Russia's top leadership," it said.

A sitting member of the Verkhovna Rada and a former energy minister were notified of being suspected of committing crimes in September and November 2021, the State Bureau of Investigations said.

"The investigation has concluded that the suspects' activities made [the Ukrainian] energy sector dependent on Russia and the terrorist organizations, which undermined the state's economic security in 2014-2015, deprived it of chances to diversify sources of [supplies of energy] resources, and provided Russia with ample opportunities to interfere in Ukraine's internal affairs and conduct subversive activities against it," it said.

The proceedings are being carried out under Criminal Code Article 258-5, Parts 1 and 3 (financing of terrorism), Article 111, Part 1 (high treason), and Article 258-3, Part 1 (establishment of terrorist organization). If found guilty of said crimes, a person may be imprisoned for up to 15 years.

Oleksandr Turchynov, former Verkhovna Rada chairman, former acting president, and former secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said later at a press briefing that, "from day one of [President Volodymyr] Zelensky's presidency, a systemic campaign has been waged against the fifth president of Ukraine [Poroshenko]."

"On his direct orders, hundreds of criminal cases have been fabricated against Petro Poroshenko. He has received hundreds of subpoenas and spent many hours being questioned at various security institutions. In fact two and a half years have passed. And all these cases have turned out to be fake. Another case fabricated on the incumbent president's direct orders will turn out to be fake the same way," Turchynov said.

The new case against Poroshenko concerns the provision of Ukraine with coal during the military confrontation in 2014-2015, Turchynov said.

Poroshenko is currently abroad, but he is not planning to hide and will return to Ukraine soon, he said.

"After conducting planned international meetings and a brief vacation, Petro Poroshenko will return to Ukraine, and your new case [...] will turn into farce again," he said.