According to a decree issued on September 12, Russia’s Astrakhan Oblast Governor Igor Babushkin has appointed Andrii Derkach, a former member of Ukraine‘s Verkhovna Rada who is currently a fugitive, as a senator. The Russian Senate, also known as the Federation Council, is the upper house of Russia’s parliament and its members are not directly elected by the public. Instead, they are nominated by regional administrations. Each region can send two representatives to the Senate, one chosen by the governor and approved by the regional legislature, and another elected by the legislature itself.
Derkach, who had been a member of the Ukrainian parliament for almost 20 years, has not attended any meetings since the start of the full-scale invasion. In 2023, his parliamentary powers were terminated prematurely. The U.S. government has labeled Derkach as a “Russian agent” and imposed sanctions on him in 2022 for attempting to interfere in elections. In 2021, Kyiv also placed him on its wanted list and imposed sanctions against him. According to TASS, Derkach now resides in Astrakhan and holds Russian citizenship. In January 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revoked Derkach’s Ukrainian citizenship.
In 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) uncovered a Russian agent network in Ukraine, which included Derkach. Authorities stated that the former lawmaker received funds from Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) to establish private security structures that Russia intended to use to capture Ukraine. Russia allegedly provided $3-4 million every few months for this purpose, according to law enforcement.
In 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) completed an investigation into Derkach’s suspected treason and illicit enrichment. According to NABU, Derkach, a former member of the now-banned pro-Russian Party of Regions, received at least $567,000 from Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies for subversive activities against Ukraine. The investigation revealed that Derkach was tasked with discrediting Ukraine on the international stage, damaging diplomatic relations with the U.S., and impeding Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and NATO.
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