A traitor with an order: how Andriy Derkach went from being wanted by the SBU to a "Hero of Russia" in 2 years

When a country is fighting for survival, it is especially obvious when someone sits in the Verkhovna Rada for 25 years, receives a Ukrainian salary, votes for dictatorial laws, works for Russian special services, and now receives the highest military award of an aggressor country — and pretends that this is a completely logical career move.

Former MP Andriy Derkach, who was indicted yesterday on treason and corruption charges and was wanted by Ukraine, today officially became a "Hero of Russia" - a title that is increasingly being awarded in the Moscow coordinate system as a bonus for working against one's own country.^{1 4 7} The award was announced not from a solemn decree, but from a modest moment in the Federation Council: the senators with the "gold star" were greeted from the rostrum, and suddenly it turned out that among their ranks was a former Ukrainian deputy, a graduate of the FSB academy, a person subject to US sanctions as an "active Russian agent" and accused of treason in Ukraine.^{1 3 4} . Russian media politely remained silent about what merits Derkach received the award for, but a set of his biographical details provides a more accurate answer than any Kremlin decree.^{1 4 7} .

How the award became known and why they "forgot" to announce it publicly

Information about Andriy Derkach being awarded the title of "Hero of Russia" surfaced during a meeting of the Federation Council on December 10, when the speaker and senators congratulated colleagues who had received this award, and his name suddenly appeared on the list.^{1 2} . A separate decree of the Russian President was not published with the appropriate pomp in official reports, which, against the background of the current Russian "culture of awards", looks symbolic: not everyone is ready to publicly boast about making a neighbor accused of treason a hero of the country.^{1 6} . Russian media only referred to the parliamentary session and “sources,” but the wording “for what exactly” was traditionally hidden behind the vague phrase about “merits to Russia.”^{1 2} .

This format of submission fits well with the logic of recent years: the Kremlin prefers to keep some of the decisions regarding awarding those involved in war and special services operations semi-secret, both to send a signal to "its own" and not to irritate partners who still formally maintain contacts with Russian institutions.^{2 6} In the case of Derkach, the “delicateness” is clear: we are talking about a person whom the US officially called an “active Russian agent,” and Ukraine — one of the tools for undermining statehood and attempting to quickly seize the country in the first months of full-scale aggression.^{3 4 7} .

Biography from a special operations textbook: FSB Academy, Energoatom and 25 years in the Rada

Andriy Derkach was born in 1967 in the family of Leonid Derkach, the former head of the SBU in the late 1990s, known for his close ties with Russian security forces and his appearance in the scandalous "Melnychenko tapes."^{7 9 13} In 1993, he graduated from the Academy of the FSB of Russia, receiving an education that, to put it mildly, is not associated with the upbringing of Ukrainian statesmen, but it well explains his further political and business trajectory.^{7 9} . Already in the late 1990s, Derkach headed the state-owned company Energoatom, responsible for Ukraine's nuclear energy, and later was also associated with the state-owned enterprise Ukratomprom, which gave him weight in the energy sector.^{1 7 9} .

In 1998, he first entered the Verkhovna Rada and was subsequently elected to several convocations in a row, the last time as a majoritarian candidate in a district in Sumy Oblast in 2019.^{1 7 9} At various times he was a deputy from the Party of Regions, and then a non-partisan, but he consistently positioned himself as "opposition to the current government", despite his open orientation towards pro-Russian circles.^{7 9} In particular, on January 16, 2014, Derkach voted for Yanukovych's so-called "dictatorial laws" - a package of repressive norms directed against Euromaidan participants, which became one of the darkest moments in modern Ukrainian politics.^{7 9} .

From parliament to US sanctions: how Derkach "built a career" as a Russian agent

In September 2020, the US Treasury Department added Andriy Derkach to the sanctions list, explicitly calling him an “active Russian agent” who had collaborated with Russian intelligence services for over a decade and tried to interfere in the 2020 US presidential election.^{3 10 11} . American agencies stated that he disseminated fabricated and distorted materials against Joe Biden, trying to influence public opinion in the United States through the media, press conferences and "showers" for individual politicians, in particular through contacts with Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.^{3 10 11} In fact, Washington has officially recorded: the Ukrainian MP is working as a tool of a Russian foreign operation aimed at destabilizing another democracy.^{3 10} .

After that, the information background around Derkach changed dramatically: his name increasingly appeared in the context of investigations into Russian influences, information campaigns, and corruption schemes in the energy sector.^{7 9 13} In 2021–2023, US law enforcement authorities further uncovered episodes where he appears in indictments for attempting to circumvent US sanctions and financial restrictions, as well as in schemes related to money laundering and illegal lobbying.^{8 10 11} For Russia, such a reputation turned out to be not toxic, but rather a resume for a future career.^{2 6} .

Ukrainian Affairs: Treason, Corruption, and "Security Firms for a Quick Takeover of the Country"

In June 2022, the SBU officially reported Andriy Derkach on suspicion of treason, accusing him of working for Russian intelligence, participating in an agent network, and preparing for full-scale aggression.^{4 7} The investigation stated that under his coordination, a number of "private security structures" were created in various regions of Ukraine, which, in the event of a successful offensive by Russian troops, were to become the backbone of the occupation regime for the rapid establishment of control over key facilities.^{4 7} In September 2022, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau put Derkach on the wanted list on suspicion of treason and illicit enrichment: according to detectives, he received at least hundreds of thousands of dollars from Russian structures for subversive activities against Ukraine.^{7 12} .

At the same time, he appears in a high-profile corruption case at Energoatom and schemes related to the environment of the company's then-leadership: Ukrainian media indicated that real estate could have been registered in the name of Derkach's relatives, where the "back office" of participants in deals with state contracts operated.^{1 7 13} The combination of these episodes makes him not just a politician who “made a mistake in choosing a vector,” but a systemic player who has been making money for years at the intersection of corruption, Russian interests, and the weaknesses of Ukrainian institutions.^{4 7 12} .

Deprivation of citizenship and flight to Russia: the final break

In January 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree depriving Andriy Derkach of Ukrainian citizenship, after which the Verkhovna Rada prematurely terminated his parliamentary powers.^{1 7 9} For a person who enjoyed the status of a people's representative, access to state resources, and political influence for a quarter of a century, this was not just a blow to her career, but the actual dismantling of her legitimate presence in the Ukrainian political field.^{7 13} Official authorities confirmed that Derkach had left Ukraine and was hiding in Russia, where he had suddenly shown great “personal interest”^{1 7 8} .

In the fall of 2024, the governor of the Astrakhan region appointed him as a senator to the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, which, among other things, votes on the use of armed forces and ratifies international agreements.^{1 8 14} . Already in November 2024, Derkach joined the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, which looks especially cynical given his participation in the war against his own country on the side of the aggressor.^{8 14} The logic of the Kremlin's personnel decisions in this case is almost flawless: who better than an "active Russian agent" with Ukrainian experience knows how to pass laws that work in Moscow's interests?^{2 6} ?

Why now: the political moment of the awards

Formally, the grounds for awarding the title of "Hero of Russia" are not disclosed, but in the information field, Derkach's awarding is superimposed on several important processes: the ongoing war against Ukraine, the use of collaborators in temporarily occupied regions, and the Kremlin's demonstrative reliance on "defectors" as a media tool.^{2 6 8} The award actually legitimizes at the highest level his role as a person who helped Russia before, during, and after the full-scale invasion — from information operations in the United States to organizing a network of influence in Ukraine.^{3 4 7} For the domestic audience, this is a signal: “look, we are rewarding those who were not afraid to work against their state for the sake of our interests.”^{2 6 8} .

On the surface, this looks like a blatant gesture of contempt for Ukraine and its allies: a country that formally claims to be conducting a “special operation” against “Nazis in Kyiv” is awarding a person whom Ukraine and the US have recognized as a participant in subversive actions and attempts to seize the state.^{3 4 10} And if the Kremlin once tried to mask its connections with such figures, now it is making it an almost official political line.^{2 6} .

Ukraine's reaction: "Hero of Russia" as evidence for the prosecution

Ukrainian media and official sources took the news of Derkach's award not as a surprise, but rather as a logical conclusion to the journey: a person accused of working for Russian intelligence, organizing an agent network, and corruption schemes in nuclear energy receives the highest award from the state, in whose interests, according to the investigation, she had acted for years.^{4 7 12} In the Ukrainian information space, his name has long become synonymous with systemic betrayal — not emotional, but documented in detail in the materials of the SBU, NABU, and international partners.^{4 7 13} Now another document is being added to this “case” – a Russian award, which essentially confirms that all these efforts were so valuable to the Kremlin that they were awarded the highest rank.^{1 8} .

For Ukrainian society, this is also a symbolic marker: the line between its own political system and Russian influence now runs not only along the front line, but also along the fates of people who enjoyed the trust of voters for years, but eventually ended up in the Russian political establishment with a "gold star" on their lapel.^{4 7 9} In this sense, Derkach's story is not just about one traitor, but about the price of tolerance for pro-Russian cadres in power for decades.^{7 12 13} .

Between Washington and Moscow: how Derkach became a symbol of hybrid warfare

Andriy Derkach's case is unique in that it combines several dimensions of hybrid warfare at once: Russian influence on Ukrainian politics, interference in the American elections, and subversive activities inside Ukraine on the eve of a full-scale invasion.^{3 4 10} US sanctions against him, statements by the Ministry of Finance and the State Department, investigations by American media and law enforcement officers have formed a virtually open profile of a Russian agent who has worked for years “on two fronts” — internal Ukrainian and external Western.^{3 10 11} . Adding to this the Ukrainian criminal proceedings on treason and corruption, we get a rare case for public policy, where the chain of subversive activity is documented from education at the FSB academy to a senatorial seat and the title of "Hero of Russia"^{4 7 12} .

For Moscow, such a biography is more of a bonus than a burden: an opportunity to show a "successful case" of a person who "understood where her true homeland is," and at the same time to inflate the thesis that "even former Ukrainian deputies recognize Russia's rightness."^{2 6 8} For Washington and Kyiv, this is another argument in favor of the fact that Russian aggression has long gone beyond the open front and includes many years of work on recruiting, financing and promoting political agents in foreign countries.^{3 4 10} .

What Derkach's history teaches us: problems for the future

The story of Andriy Derkach poses several uncomfortable questions for Ukraine that will not disappear even after a court verdict or a change in political elites in Russia.^{7 12 13} How could a person with a diploma from the FSB Academy, many years of contacts with Russian special services, and participation in scandalous episodes remain in parliament for more than two decades and head a strategic state enterprise responsible for nuclear energy?^{7 9 13} ? Why did previous signals from international partners and journalistic investigations not become a reason for a systematic verification of his activities before the start of a full-scale war?^{3 7 10} ?

The answers to these questions are important not only for history, but also for the future security architecture: without strict mechanisms for verifying the origin of capital, the connections of politicians and top managers of state-owned companies, Ukraine risks once again encountering the "heroes" of foreign states in its own government offices.^{7 12 13} Against the backdrop of a full-scale war, Derkach's case is a warning: the demilitarization of Russian influence should concern not only missiles and tanks, but also career elevators for people for whom a foreign order turns out to be more precious than their own state.^{4 7 9} .

Sources

1. Meduza: "Former Verkhovna Rada deputy Andrey Derkach became a Hero of Russia"
2. Kommersant / Russian parliamentary reports: message about congratulations to senators - Gold Star recipients in the Federation Council
3. Politico, NPR: materials on US sanctions against Andriy Derkach and his role in disinformation campaigns regarding the US elections
4. Security Service of Ukraine: public reports on suspicion of Andriy Derkach in treason and working for Russian intelligence
5. US government sanctions registers and public statements by the Treasury and State Departments regarding Derkach's status as an "active Russian agent"
6. Russian state and affiliated media: reports on the practice of partially classified decrees on awarding the titles of "Hero of Russia"
7. Ukrainian media and analytical publications: biographical data about the Derkach family, work at Energoatom and political activity in the Verkhovna Rada
8. Caliber.az, other international media: materials on the appointment of Andriy Derkach as a senator from the Astrakhan region and a member of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security
9. BBC, international press: reviews of international reactions to Russian interference in the US elections and Andriy Derkach's participation in these operations
10. US court and law enforcement records: indictments regarding Derkach's attempts to circumvent US sanctions and exploit the US financial system
11. Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies and media investigations: data on the search for Derkach, suspicions of illicit enrichment and corruption schemes at Energoatom
12. Ukrainian and international expert centers: analysis of the use of pro-Russian politicians as tools of Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine and the West
13. Biographical reference sources (in particular, Ukrainian encyclopedic resources): information about Derkach's education, voting for "dictatorial laws" and stages of his political career