Yulia Tymoshenko, a People's Deputy of Ukraine and leader of the "Batkivshchyna" faction, who was served with a notice of suspicion by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, spoke from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada and publicly rejected the accusations against her, UNN reports.
In her speech, Yulia Tymoshenko stated that she considers the actions of law enforcement agencies to be political pressure, and the investigative actions carried out to be illegal. According to her, the search of the office took place late in the evening in the absence of any procedural documents.
"I want to completely refute all unsubstantiated, unproven accusations that have just been made. Yesterday at 9:30 PM, I was alone in the office. There was no security, no people. At 9:30 PM, a huge number of people in ammunition, with weapons, in five buses – more than 30 people – burst in. They told me that no documents were needed because these were special investigative actions. They took away phones, documents, faction analytics, which is normal parliamentary work," she said.
She also claims that law enforcement officers did not provide a court order for the search and denied her the right to invite a lawyer, and during the investigative actions, they seized employees' phones and documents, which, according to Tymoshenko, relate exclusively to the parliamentary and analytical activities of the faction.
She also directly stated that the searches conducted and the loud press release published by NABU employees are nothing but revenge for her statements that anti-corruption bodies are an instrument of political pressure.
"Our entire faction publicly opposed NABU, SAP. Because, in essence, it is an organ of political pressure on politicians, on high-ranking officials. You know that we then proposed that it be an independent body, but appointed by Ukrainians, by some independent structure, so that there would be at least some control over them. Because today this happened," she added.
It should be noted that Yulia Tymoshenko's speech took place against the backdrop of her being served with a notice of suspicion and NABU's publication of video recordings of covert investigative (search) actions, the so-called "Tymoshenko Tapes."
Earlier, NABU and SAP served Yulia Tymoshenko with a notice of suspicion for offering undue benefits to People's Deputies of Ukraine. According to the investigation, after the exposure in December 2025 of facts of receiving bribes for voting in the Verkhovna Rada, a crisis situation arose, which, according to law enforcement, was exploited by the leader of one of the parliamentary factions, initiating negotiations on introducing a systemic mechanism of bribery in exchange for loyal behavior during voting.
The investigation claims that it was not about one-time agreements, but about a regular mechanism of cooperation with advance payments and clear coordination of votes.
NABU also released video recordings on which, according to the investigation, a voice similar to Yulia Tymoshenko's voice is recorded discussing the coordination of parliamentary votes via the Signal messenger.
"That is, we want to destroy the majority. And therefore, we should not give them any leeway. So, talk to the guys. Of course, there will be no penalties, but it is very important that there is discipline, because otherwise, it all makes no sense," it sounds on the "Tymoshenko Tapes."
"And now, regarding personnel matters: we vote 'for' removal and do not vote for appointment," it sounds on the "Tymoshenko Tapes."
The criminal offense is qualified under Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – offering or providing undue benefits in a large amount or to an official holding a particularly responsible position.
Recall
Earlier, the High Anti-Corruption Court, at the request of the prosecution, applied preventive measures in the form of bail to five People's Deputies of Ukraine suspected of systematically receiving undue benefits for committing and not committing actions using the power or official position granted to them.
As noted, the investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court set bail for two People's Deputies in the amount of UAH 40 million and UAH 30 million, respectively, for two others – UAH 20 million each, and for the fifth People's Deputy – UAH 16.6 million. The court also imposed procedural obligations on all suspects, including wearing an electronic monitoring device.
Recall that on December 27, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and SAP announced the exposure of an organized group of current People's Deputies who, according to the investigation, systematically received undue benefits for voting in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The amounts of bribes, according to law enforcement, ranged from 2 thousand to 20 thousand US dollars.
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