High treason case: SBU opens proceedings against political strategist Vladimir Petrov
20 January 20:48
The Security Service of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings against political strategist, blogger, and TV presenter Vladimir Petrov on charges of treason. This was reported by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, citing data from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to Zheleznyak, the proceedings were registered on January 14, 2026, under Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This article provides for liability for treason committed, in particular, under martial law.
What is Petrov suspected of?
According to an extract from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations published by the deputy, the investigation believes that Petrov, using his own media resources — the projects “Iceland,” “School of Corruption,” and “Lumpen Show” — provided assistance to the Russian Federation in conducting subversive activities against Ukraine.
The document states that in his public statements, Petrov:
- denied the fact of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by regular Russian troops;
- called the war a “civil war”;
- presented the “DPR” and “LPR” groups as supposedly state entities with their own authorities;
- promoted the idea of abandoning Ukrainian state symbols “for the sake of reconciliation”;
- exerted informational and psychological influence aimed at disrupting mobilization into the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The investigation qualifies these actions as damaging to the sovereignty, defense capability, and information security of the state.
Reservations and work in a state institution
Vladimir Petrov’s name had previously appeared in a public scandal surrounding possible violations of reservations at the National Military Memorial Cemetery state institution. Information appeared in the media that Petrov was an employee of this institution and had a reservation from mobilization until January 2026.
On January 20, the National Military Memorial Cemetery announced that Petrov had resigned from his position as a leading specialist in communications and information technology. At the same time, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs launched an official investigation into possible abuses of deferment at this institution, and the Verkhovna Rada summoned the Minister of Veterans Affairs to report on this issue.
At this time, the Security Service of Ukraine has not officially commented on the progress of the investigation.
At the same time, according to the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court verdict.
