In past decades, Medvedchuk, an ally and personal friend of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, sat in the Ukrainian parliament as the primary agent of Russian political influence. After the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, he was charged with high treason.
Journalists identified all of Marchenko’s bodyguards on the trip. Among them was Valeriy Tuz, who, tax records show, never officially worked for the security firm owned by the Medvedchuk family, or for any related company. Instead, from Q4 2022 through Q2 2024, Tuz drew a salary from the SBU.
Slidstvo.Info sources say Tuz acted as a double agent and collaborated with the SBU even before his formal employment. According to the report, he helped secure Medvedchuk’s arrest during an attempted escape from Ukraine in 2022. After a period with the SBU, the partnership ended.
The SBU declined to confirm Tuz’s affiliation, stating only that “the individual in question is not an SBU employee.” Another bodyguard, identified as Vitaliy D., told Slidstvo.Info, “Sorry, you won’t learn anything from me about Oksana Marchenko. It’s been a long time, and there are legal restrictions on disclosing state secrets.”
The SBU also would not say whether it knew Marchenko planned to leave Ukraine in the company of a “double agent.” Reporters attempted to reach Tuz for comment; he hung up after the first question and did not answer subsequent calls.
On May 28, 2024, Ukrainian prosecutors accused Marchenko of financing Russia’s National Guard and Foreign Ministry, charging her with financing actions aimed at violently overthrowing the constitutional order and collaborating with the enemy.