Andriy Derkach

"pro-Russian Ukrainian MP, former Party of Regions member, the political party of Ukraine's toppled pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych" Derkach met with Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, in Kyiv in December 2019. He is also suspected of sending packets of disinformation on the Bidens to prominent Trump allies around the same time. And in August 2020, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence accused Derkach of being part of the Russian government’s efforts to damage Biden’s presidential candidacy. The US Treasury Department had previously designated Derkach himself for sanctions related to foreign interference in the 2020 election in September 2020. But on Monday January 11 2021, the department “took additional action against seven individuals and four entities” that it alleged were “part of a Russia-linked foreign influence network” associated with him. Those designated for sanctions on Monday included former Ukrainian government officials Konstantin Kulyk, Oleksandr Onyshchenko and Andriy Telizhenko, as well as current Ukrainain lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky. Also designated for sanctions were Petro Zhuravel, a “key member of Derkach’s media team;” Dmytro Kovalchuk, a “long-time supporter” of Derkach who assisted with his media efforts; and Anton Simonenko, who “served as Derkach’s assistant for nearly a decade and helped Derkach hide financial assets,” according to the Treasury Department.