The U.S. has added seven Ukrainians and four organizations to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List for attempting to interfere in its 2020 presidential election, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on Jan. 11.
All of the sanctioned Ukrainians are part of a Russia-linked foreign influence network associated with Andriy Derkach, the Ukrainian lawmaker who had been accused of acting in Russia’s interests and attempting to interfere in the 2020 presidential election in the U.S.
They were also allies of Rudy Giuliani, President Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, in spreading debunked conspiracy theories about U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s alleged corruption and Ukraine’s interference in the 2016 election on behalf of losing candidate Hillary Clinton.
“Russian disinformation campaigns targeting American citizens are a threat to our democracy,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “The United States will continue to aggressively defend the integrity of our election systems and processes.”
Those on the sanctioned list cannot do business with any people or businesses in the U.S., and their property interests under U.S. jurisdiction are blocked.
The list includes Oleksandr Dubinsky, the Ukrainian lawmaker from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party. Dubinsky is known for his anti-Western stance and smear campaigns against pro-Western politicians and officials. Before entering politics, he worked as an editor and host at the 1+1 TV channel, owned by billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.
Joining him is Ukraine’s former chief prosecutor Konstantin Kulyk, who investigated the involvement of the president-elect’s son, Hunter Biden, in a scandal with Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Together with Derkach, Kulyk spread debunked accusations of international corruption, the statement reads.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned former diplomat Andriy Telizhenko. In 2016, he spread groundless conspiracy theories about the Biden family and foreign meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Telizhenko is a known ally of President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Ukraine-born fugitive lawmaker Oleksandr Onyshchenko is also on the list, as well as Derkach’s allies Dmytro Kovalchuk, Anton Simonenko and Petro Zhuravel.
Ukrainian websites Era-Media, Only News, Nabuleaks, and Skeptik were added to the list for foreign interference in U.S. elections. They spread misleading and baseless allegations that current and former U.S. officials were engaged in corruption, money laundering and unlawful political influence in Ukraine, according to the Treasury Department.
All websites are owned or controlled by Derkach or Zhuravel, a key member of Derkach’s media team.
Zhuravel owns Only News and Skeptik. He also provided technical support for Derkach’s online activities aiming to spread disinformation.
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