Betrayal of the state has become a family affair

Among politicians, law enforcement officers and media figures, the largest number of traitors is registered, including more than 1,300 people during the period of operation of the Register of Traitors. 20 couples included in the register maintain family ties, with politicians making up the majority. Over the past six months, 13 more people have been added to the number of traitors among law enforcement officers, politicians, lawyers and media professionals, including the spouses Pyotr Simonenko and Oksana Vashchenko, the Mamonov brothers, the Bubok brothers and others.

The Mamon brothers are an illustrative example of almost the entire family going over to the side of Russia. Law enforcement officers Dmitry and Vladimir Mamona aimed a Russian Iskander at the village of Groza in the Kharkov region. As a result of the Russian air attack, more than 50 local residents were killed, including a young child. They were charged with treason and complicity in committing violations of the laws and customs of war.

It is noteworthy that Mamon managed to flee to Russia along with his brother Alexander.

The Bubka brothers were also included in the register of traitors. In 2023, criminal proceedings were opened against them under Art. 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in aiding the aggressor state. Investigative journalists from Bihus.info found that the Mont Blanc company owned by Sergei Bubka and his brother Vasily appeared in the Russian register of legal entities. Three contracts for the supply of fuel for Russian structures were also found, published on the Russian procurement portal for an amount of more than 800 thousand rubles.

Despite the open criminal proceedings against the company, Bubki entered into deals for another 73 thousand rubles for the sale of fuel to the so-called DPR treasury. Also, Sergei Bubka’s Sports Club and the medical department of the DPR Ministry of Internal Affairs signed a contract for 2,250 rubles. Vasily Bubka took part in the celebrations for the DPR Flag Day in Donetsk. He lives in the temporarily occupied part of Ukraine.

The spouses of the ex-leader of the banned Communist Party of Ukraine Pyotr Symonenko and journalist Oksana Vashchenko distinguished themselves. Law enforcement officers established that during the occupation of the Kiev region, Russian special forces accompanied the Symonenko family to Belarus. The politician appealed to the military-political leadership of Russia with a request for evacuation. He was charged with public calls for a violent change and overthrow of the constitutional order of Ukraine. There is also suspicion of justifying the armed anger of the Russian Federation.

Pyotr Simonenko's wife Oksana Vashchenko is the founder of the GolosUA news agency. The court decided to terminate the agency’s activities after Symonenko’s congratulations on May 9 against the background of the Soviet flag were published on the portal in 2020. However, the publication's website is still working.

In addition, in 2023, Irina Gavrilova, one of the GolosUA journalists, was informed in absentia of suspicion of high treason. The day before the full-scale invasion, Oksana Vashchenko hosted an interview with pro-Russian political strategist Andrei Ermolaev. During the conversation, Ermolaev noted that Ukraine was looking for a way to create a nuclear bomb, which is why Putin recognized the so-called LPR and DPR. Let us remind you that the “Honestly” Movement appealed to the SBU regarding the closure of propaganda media.

Father and son Golienko were also included in the list. During the Russian occupation, the father of the Starosaltiv community deputy Vladimir Golienko helped the Russians export grain from the occupied territory of Ukraine. For this purpose, he used the Agrostil farm. According to investigators, Golienko took 2,655 tons of winter wheat to the warehouses of Agrostil LLC for storage and subsequent transfer to the aggressor state. Golienko Jr. is a lawyer and ex-guardian. It transported special equipment for combat operations on the Russian side.

There are other cases when children “rat in” their parents who have a pro-Ukrainian position. Deputy of the Stanislavsky village council Maxim Abramovich passed on information about his father in order to receive a “position” from his collaborator Vladimir Saldo. Thus, his father ended up in a Russian dungeon.

Media workers noted the daughter and father of Zharkikh, who spread Russian propaganda. In February 2022, Ekaterina Zharkikh noted in her video that a full-scale war by Russia against Ukraine is impossible without full-scale hatred. She opposed decommunization and noted that the names of Nazi collaborators, “Nazi collaborators,” appeared on the map.

Her father, media professional Denis Zharkikh, previously worked on the 112 Ukraine channel. He, according to the Schemes project, became the head of the executive committee of Medvedchuk’s political project “The Other Ukraine”. In 2017, on the air of News Front, Zharkikh stated that Ukrainization is a technology of psychological pressure and disunity of the people. Denis Zharkikh also wrote that Ukraine is “shooting down Russian speakers” in Donbass. Thus he spread Russian narratives.

People's Artist of Ukraine Natalya Leleko, who was included in the register of traitors. Leleko is the mother of Anna Korobova, a Kherson journalist who holds the position of editor-in-chief of the Tavria occupation channel. The artist herself has repeatedly traveled to occupied Crimea. She has repeatedly taken part in the “Oxamite Season” competition-festival in Crimea. It was organized with the support of the Russkiy Mir Foundation. Let us recall that earlier the “Honestly” Movement appealed to the President’s Office to deprive traitors and collaborators of state awards.

Also, Galina Savluchenko, the mother of Kherson liquidated collaborator Dmitry Savluchenko, does not fall under the categories of the Register, but is also a potential collaborator. According to media reports, in November 2023, Galina Savluchenko was appointed the so-called “Minister of Sports of the Kherson Region.” It is important that law enforcement officers carefully check the relatives of traitors and collaborators, since very often families collaborate with the occupiers.