Propaganda lawyer: ex-defender of Medvedchuk and Shariy sentenced to 10 years for collaboration
11 June 2025 21:10
The Security Service of Ukraine has reported that lawyer Valentyn Rybin, who worked with Viktor Medvedchuk and Anatoliy Shariy, was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison for collaboration, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Rybin currently holds a senior position in the Russian occupation administration on the left bank of the Kherson region – he heads the so-called “organizational and legal department of the Ministry of Information Policy of the Kherson region of Russia” and coordinates information sabotage against Ukraine.
Prior to the Russian invasion, Rybin was known as a lawyer for odious pro-Russian figures, including Medvedchuk and Shariy (the latter was recently sentenced in absentia to 15 years for treason).
According to the SBU, Rybin traveled abroad, publicly called on the Ukrainian military to lay down their arms, and later arrived in the occupied territory, where he became an accomplice in the Russian propaganda apparatus.
He also joined the United Russia party and repeatedly publicly supported the occupiers.
The court also ordered the confiscation of Rybin’s property. As he is hiding in the occupied part of Ukraine, the SBU continues to take measures to bring him to justice.
