Fedir Khrystenko. Photo: Facebook of Khrystenko
UP: Pro-Russian Ukrainian MP arrested on suspicion of treason now free following plea deal
Fedir Khrystenko, an MP from the pro-Russian Opposition Platform – For Life party which is banned in Ukraine and who was suspected of treason, has been released following a plea deal but remains under guard and close supervision by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).
Ukrainska Pravda
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Fedir Khrystenko, an MP from the pro-Russian Opposition Platform – For Life party which is banned in Ukraine and who was suspected of treason, has been released following a plea deal but remains under guard and close supervision by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).
Source: Ukrainska Pravda article
Details: Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that Khrystenko's health had deteriorated significantly during his time in custody pending trial.
"He had a serious spinal condition that required constant movement and many hours of walking during the day, which could not be provided in pre-trial detention conditions," a source explained to Ukrainska Pravda.
The source said Khrystenko had also been subjected to intensive interrogations at the SSU's Main Investigative Directorate.
"He was subjected to intensive interrogations," the source noted. "He was questioned virtually every day at the SSU's Main Investigative Directorate, and this was often done personally by the directorate chief Andrii Shvets."
Ukrainska Pravda has approached the SSU for comment on the details of Khrystenko's case, but the security service declined, saying: "We cannot help you."
Background:
In September 2025, the SSU reported that Khrystenko had been arrested. According to the case file, the MP had long been a Russian intelligence agent, having participated as far back as 2014 in organising pro-Russian protests in Donetsk and continuing subversive activities in Russia's interests.
Ukrainska Pravda learned that SSU officers were attempting to obtain Khrystenko's testimony against detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
It was also reported that Khrystenko was to testify against NABU detective Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, who was held in an SSU pre-trial detention.
On 6 October, Ukrainian news outlet Babel reported, citing three sources, that Khrystenko was testifying against Oleksandr Klymenko, director of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, in a case involving several former NABU employees who had handled cases concerning the state-run railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) and subsequently took up employment there.
In December 2025, the Pecherskyi District Court in Kyiv approved a plea deal for Khrystenko, who was suspected of treason.
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