Member of Parliament Nestor Shufrych has been notified of suspicion of high treason, according to the materials of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

"The Security Service of Ukraine, jointly with the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO), collected a well-reasoned evidence base on anti-Ukrainian activities of incumbent Member of Parliament Nestor Shufrych. According to the materials of the SBU, he was notified of suspicion under Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason)," the SBU said on the Telegram channel on Friday.

According to the SBU, the investigation materials evidence that Shufrych "closely cooperated and carried out the tasks set by former NSDC [National Security and Defense Council] Secretary Volodymyr Sivkovych, and FSB agent, whose task was to coordinate the activities of Russian agents in Ukraine."

The SBU recalled that Sivkovych escaped to Moscow in 2014 and created a network of agents for subversive activities against Ukraine.

"It was he who curated former Chief of the SBU Directorate in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Oleh Kulinich, a high treason suspect who was detained personally by SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk," it said.

The Ukrainian special service also said that one of the main tasks of Shufrych was to carry out subversive activities in the sphere of information.

"He regularly spread the Kremlin's narratives that the Ukrainian state is allegedly an artificial entity, that Ukraine and Russia have a common history and that the Ukrainians and the Russians are allegedly 'a single people.' Thus, Shufrych tried to develop pro-Russian sentiments in the Ukrainian society," the SBU said.

Some 45 searches were conducted at the places of residence of the defendant and his close circle.

The pre-trial investigation is underway.

The sanction of the article provides for up to 15 years in prison.