‘Work’ for the President’s Office did not provide any protection: the Security Service of Ukraine conducted searches at the residence of opposition Member of Parliament Nestor Shufrych, accusing him of state treason

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, has informed Ukrainian Member of Parliament Nestor Shufrych of suspicion of state treason.

This information was reported by the advisor to the President’s Office, Sergey Leshchenko, on his Telegram channel.

According to the investigation, Shufrych is accused of damaging Ukraine’s sovereignty “by providing assistance to a foreign state and its representatives in carrying out subversive activities against Ukraine by prior conspiracy with a group of individuals.”

Preliminarily, he is charged with state treason for “spreading Russian propaganda” on television channels.

Earlier in the morning, Ukraine’s Security Service conducted a search at Nestor Shufrych’s residence in Kozyn in connection with the state treason case.

As a reminder, Nestor Shufrych, a Member of Parliament from the now-banned Opposition Platform – For Life party, continues to attend the Verkhovna Rada, speak from the podium and lead the Committee on Freedom of Speech. In April 2022, several deputies from the banned party formed the “Platform for Life and Peace” parliamentary group.

As analysts from the HONEST Movement noted in February 2023, after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Shufrych de facto became the spokesperson for the “Servant of the People” party.

“In reality, Nestor Shufrych is quite active in the session hall; he often speaks. He remained silent until the beginning of April and then, when they announced the creation of a new group, he started speaking. So, he became a spokesperson,” said parliamentary analyst Alexander Salizhenko in an interview with Radio NV.

“He constantly urges MPs to vote, support, not argue, but vote for,” describes the expert.

“Moreover, former MPs from the Opposition Platform – For Life end their speeches in the session hall with slogans like ‘Glory to Ukraine! – Glory to the Heroes!’ Now they are such fervent patriots who constantly say in their speeches that they have always been for Ukraine for the EU,” the HONEST Movement analyst marvels.

After the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, fighters from the 206th Kyiv Territorial Defense Battalion detained Shufrych for taking photographs at a checkpoint.

In 2022, Ukrainian journalists discovered that Nestor Shufrych’s family-owned land plots and property on the southern coast of Crimea, acquired in 2013. After the annexation, this property was registered under Russian legislation. Furthermore, the family of the MP continued to purchase real estate in the region even after the annexation, certifying agreements only under Russian laws.

As a reminder, we previously examined in detail why MPs from the banned Opposition Platform – For Life party continue to work in the Ukrainian Parliament and support all legislative initiatives proposed by President Zelenskyy’s regime.