Former People’s Deputy and member of the pro-Russian Party of Regions, Andriy Derkach, who opposed the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Ukraine, joined the Security and Defense Committee of Russia’s Federation Council.
That’s according to Hromadse, referring to the website of Russia’s Federation Council.
It is noted that he was given the powers of a member of the defense committee back in September, valid until 2029.
It should be recalled that Derkach, who fled to Russia, was appointed a senator from the Astrakhan region.
The Council of Federations is the upper chamber of the federal assembly of the Russian Federation — the Parliament of the Russian Federation. It includes two representatives from each of the 89 subjects of Russia, and recently also from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Currently, the Federation Council is headed by Valentina Matvienko, a native of Khmelnytskyi region.
Who is Derkach?
Derkach had been a People’s Deputy of Ukraine since 1998. The son of a KGB general, he graduated from the Academy of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), where he received his PhD.
He is an associate professor at the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate).
It should be noted that Andrii Derkach also ex-president of Energoatom NAEC, the operator of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. Derkach oversaw the creation of private security companies in various regions of Ukraine, which were intended to help Russia quickly capture Ukraine.
During his service as a lawmaker, he pennned a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew in which he told him against visiting Ukraine. In early 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky deprived a number of Russian operatives in Ukraine, including Derkach, of their Ukrainian citizenship. The SBU security service has officially designated Derkach as an asset hired by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
According to the niquiry, Derkach received at least $567,000 from Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies for subversive operations against Ukraine in 2019–2022. They involved efforts to discredit Ukraine on the international stage, worsen diplomatic relations with the United States, and complicate integration into the European Union and NATO. He was declared wanted on September 16, 2022.
He is under investigation over high treason and illegal enrichment.
