Businessman Oleg Varyukhin, who traveled to Russia after living in Ukraine for 27 years, has been charged with treason for paying Ukraine’s mandatory military levy into its state budget, Mediazona reported.
Varyukhin was detained in May 2026. In early August, his lawyer, Yuri Shel, said the treason charge stemmed from tax payments in Ukraine. At the time, it was unclear which tax the Russian authorities had taken issue with.
Officers from Russia’s Federal Security Service found records of the tax payments on Varyukhin’s phone during a search at the airport, his lawyer said.
Money transfers to support the Ukrainian army have previously led to treason prosecutions in Russia. But Varyukhin is the first person known to be prosecuted for treason for paying taxes into Ukraine’s state budget, Mediazona noted.
Varyukhin was born in Norilsk and moved to Ukraine in 1999, where he ran a perfume shop. He was unable to obtain Ukrainian citizenship and did not have a Russian passport either: he had left Russia with Soviet documents. In 2026, he flew to Russia via Moldova to update his documents. He was detained directly at the airport.
Shel called the treason charge absurd. “Anyone who works in any country is required to pay taxes. They have no say in that. As in any country, [Varyukhin] had no say in how the government allocated those taxes,” he said while challenging his client’s detention. But his arguments did not persuade the court.
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