Former Ukrainian lawmaker awarded title of hero of Russia

Former Ukrainian MP Andriy Derkach, previously elected from the Sumy region, has re-emerged in the spotlight following Russian media reports that he has been awarded the title of “Hero of Russia.” The distinction is believed to be connected to his alleged activities carried out in Russia’s interests.

According to these reports, the award was granted for actions “linked to Russia.” In November 2024, Derkach joined the Security and Defence Committee of Russia’s Federation Council. Earlier, in the summer of 2024, he became a candidate for the Federation Council, and by September he had assumed the post of senator representing Astrakhan Oblast, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Andriy Derkach is the son of Leonid Derkach, the former head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). He first entered the Verkhovna Rada in 1998 (III convocation) and was repeatedly elected, most recently in 2019 as a representative of electoral district 159. On January 16, 2014, he voted in favor of the so-called “dictatorial laws” adopted under then-president Viktor Yanukovych.

In September 2022, Ukraine placed Derkach on its wanted list on suspicion of state treason and illegal enrichment, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). Investigators claim that between 2019 and 2022, he received no less than $567,000 from Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies for “subversive activities against Ukraine.”

In January 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stripped Derkach of his Ukrainian citizenship, after which the Verkhovna Rada removed him from his parliamentary mandate. That July, Derkach filed a lawsuit challenging the presidential decree. By August 2023, NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office had completed their investigation, and on November 29, 2023, the case was sent to court.

According to various sources, Derkach’s 2019 asset declaration shows that several real estate holdings were registered under the name of his wife, Oksana Terekhova. An investigation also reported that Derkach was among the wealthiest MPs elected from Sumy Region.

US intelligence agencies have additionally noted long-standing links between Derkach and Russian security services, as well as his alleged involvement in or financing of foreign interference efforts in the 2020 US elections.

By Vafa Guliyeva