In a statement to NV on Nov. 24, the SBU press service said it had received no “instructions, requests, or hints” from the President’s Office or any other body to pursue such charges. It also noted that under Ukrainian law, SBU investigators cannot bring charges against sitting members of parliament.
The Prosecutor General’s Office echoed that position, saying, “Widespread claims that treason charges have been prepared or approved against a member of parliament have no basis in reality.” The office added that there is currently no evidence to justify such a charge.
On Nov. 23, Ukrainska Pravda reported that the head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, had ordered law enforcement to prepare charges against Klymenko after SAPO and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) started publishing findings from their investigation of corruption at the Energy Ministry and state nuclear operator Energoatom. The outlet also said the President’s Office pushed to deliver a treason charge to Arakhamia at a Nov. 20 meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the ruling Servant of the People party, blaming him for helping NABU and SAPO’s investigation. According to the report, neither SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk nor Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko would sign off on the documents, so the charge was never formally issued.