Ex-MP from banned pro-Russian party arrested in absentia for high treason
Vadym Rabinovych. Photo: Opposition Platform – For Life

A Kyiv court on Tuesday ordered that Vadym Rabinovych, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament believed to be in Israel, be arrested on charges of high treason, the state bureau of investigation (DBR) said in a statement.

The court approved DBR’s request to arrest Mr Rabinovych as a pre-trial measure, and the bureau has sent a request for international legal assistance to Israel, where the former MP is believed to be hiding.

Vadym Rabinovych was a co-chairman of Opposition Platform – For Life, the now-banned pro-Russian party, and left Ukraine on the eve of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Last month, he was charged with high treason for disseminating anti-Ukrainian propaganda in the EU, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Last year, the Ukrainian president stripped the fugitive MP off Ukrainian citizenship, and his mandate was revoked.

DBRVadym Rabinovychhigh treason