The pretrial investigation against five members of a criminal organization has been completed – a current and former MPs of Ukraine, a former prosecutor and two heads of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, who are charged with creating and participating in a criminal organization, as well as treason, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) said.

"The investigation established that in 2016, the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces created a criminal organization, which included two MPs of Ukraine, a former employee of the Prosecutor General's Office and other individuals. The organization was engaged in destabilizing the socio-political situation in Ukraine, discrediting our state in the international arena and operated as an agent network until 2022," the PGO said in a statement on Telegram on Monday.

As reported, the group's members received monetary compensation from the Russian General Staff for this activity. "The current MP of Ukraine carried out information and subversive activities in favor of the aggressor state. He disseminated Russian narratives, including about the highest political leadership of Ukraine. To disseminate them, he participated in public events," the PGO press service said.

The report does not provide the names of the defendants, but judging by the details provided, it is, in particular, about Andriy Derkach, a former MP who fled to Russia and has now become a senator from Astrakhan region in Russia, as well as about MP Alexander Dubinsky, currently in pretrial detention, and former prosecutor Kostiantyn Kulyk.

In November 2019, the MPs organized a joint press conference at which they disseminated information about the alleged international corruption of U.S. officials, trying to worsen relations between Ukraine and its strategic partner. Also in June 2020, the former prosecutor held a joint press conference with the former MP, at which both publicly "substantiated" fakes in favor of the Kremlin, including about the alleged interference of Ukrainian officials in the presidential elections in the United States.

According to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), according to preliminary estimates, Russian special services spent at least $10 million on this organization. On the eve of Russia's full-scale invasion, the former MP and former prosecutor (Derkach and Kulyk) fled abroad and are hiding from justice.