A translator who accompanied Ukraine Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman on his visit to Canada in late October has been arrested by his country’s state security service and accused of being a Russian spy.
Stanislav Yezhov was in the room for a number of high-level meetings during Groysman’s visit to Ottawa, including private sessions with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gov. Gen. Julie Payette.
He also translated an interview Groysman conducted with CBC News as part of his official visit, which included testimony before the House of Commons foreign affairs committee.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is of Ukrainian heritage, was in Kyiv on Thursday as the scandal unfolded.
Her staff said she was unavailable to comment.
A security expert said, given the timing of the visit on Oct. 31, the case raises serious questions for the Canadian and Ukrainian governments.
Phil Gurski, a former CSIS officer, said Trudeau’s office should have had its own “vetted” translator in the room.
“Unless the Ukrainians were insisting on they bring their own translator, our own person should have been in the room in the first place,” said Gurski, who noted that was the practice of intelligence services and he was not aware of the protocol in the Prime Minister’s Office.
A spokesman for Trudeau, Cameron Ahmad, confirmed that Yezhov was part of the Ukrainian delegation.
Ahmad said Canada had its own translator in the room. However, video of the photo op from that day shows Yezhov standing beside Trudeau’s desk.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, left, said he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed Ukraine’s request for arms and the country’s conflict with Russia during the Ottawa visit. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Arms sales, G7 discussed
Gurski said there’s the obvious concern that the substance of the closed-door meeting could have been shared with Moscow.
Groysman, in his interview with CBC News that day, said the two countries discussed the issue of adding Ukraine to the list of countries where Canadian arms manufacturers can sell weapons and about Trudeau using the upcoming chairmanship of the G7 to focus attention on the war-torn eastern European country.
Yezhov, who has long been part of Groysman’s inner circle, also took part in meetings with British Prime Minister Theresa May last July and former U.S. vice-president Joe Biden in 2016, according to published reports in Britain.
SkyNews quoted May on Thursday as saying she was aware of reports that Yezhov had been arrested but deferred to Ukrainian authorities.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Thursday it had opened a treason case, but not yet laid charges against the interpreter, who was allegedly recruited by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB)
A statement by the SBU accused Yezhov of collecting “data on the activities of governmental institutions by means of special equipment.”
He allegedly passed information to his Russian contacts “through electronic communication channels.”
The agency’s statement also suggested Yezhov had been under surveillance for a while but was allowed to go about his business as security officers gathered evidence.
That raises the possibility the Ukrainian security service knew about the potential security risk during Groysman’s visit to Ottawa.
The Ukrainian embassy in Ottawa confirmed that “a member of staff” working for “cabinet ministers” was detained Wednesday by the SBU under suspicion of illegally collecting information in favour of the Russian Federation.
“He is suspected in a state treason. The investigation is underway. The decision on the case will be ruled by the Ukrainian court,” said the statement.
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