Hromadske says SBU is trying to discredit investigation into wife of SBU chief from Odesa region

The investigative department of the Hromadske media outlet called the statements of the Security Service of Ukraine about threats to the wife of the head of the SBU office in Odesa region, Viktor Dorovskyi, by the Russian FSB an attempt to discredit the journalistic investigation.

According to the journalists, this is evidenced by the fact that the SBU's statement was disseminated in the media on the day of the publication of the journalistic investigation, in which the investigators reported that Oksana Dorovska had a valid Russian passport.

In their investigation, the journalists also reported that during the full-scale invasion, Oksana Dorovska built business ties in Cyprus with sanctioned lawyers who are closely associated with pro-Russian oligarchs, Viktor Medvedchuk and Vadym Novynskyi. The woman severed her business ties with the Cypriots only after Hromadske's request to the Security Service. Hromadske also found that Dorovskaya purchased luxury real estate with a market value of approximately $1.3 million in 2018-2019.

The SBU said that the Russian agent had contacted the wife of SBU General Viktor Dorovskyi, Oksana Dorovska, allegedly threatening to spread fictitious "dirt" through media and Telegram channels. They even posted a recording of a conversation between Viktor Dorovskyi's wife and this agent.

What raised doubts among journalists

However, journalists noted that they were not sure that this recording was really what the SBU said it was.

"If the relevant threats were indeed made to Oksana Dorovska by the Russian Federal Security Service, the editorial board hopes for a proper investigation of these facts. However, the video provided by the Security Service to the media, where the wife of the SBU General Oksana Dorovska allegedly communicates with a representative of the Russian Federal Security Service, does not have a date that can be used to identify the time of communication. In addition, this video, as well as the accompanying comments of the SBU, are not available on its official resources," the journalists noted.

In addition, in a comment to UP, the SBU said that the threats to Dorovskyi's wife allegedly began on March 27, 2025. Therefore, Hromadske investigators wondered why the SBU decided to announce this on the day their investigation was published, and not earlier.

Hromadske's editorial board stated that the facts presented in the investigation into Viktor Dorovskii are true. In addition, Hromadske draws attention to the fact that the same explanations of the SBU published by UP were taken into account during the preparation of the investigation.

The journalists also said that after they addressed the SBU with inquiries in October, Oksana Dorovska changed the lawyers under sanctions to others and also changed the legal address of her business in Cyprus.

This has already happened in a similar case

The editors noted that a similar situation occurred with the investigation by Slidstvo. Info investigation into SBU General Ilya Vityuk, who is now suspected of corruption by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

"On April 4, 2024, the day of the Slidstvo.Info investigation into the wealth of the Vityuk family, Ukrinform published an interview with the general, in which he stated that he was aware of cases where Russia uses activists "in the dark" to discredit Ukrainian figures. The next day, in a commentary to the Espresso TV channel, Vityuk called the investigation a "possible attack" that he had warned about," Hromadske said.

The SBU used the same wording in the case of the investigation into Oksana Dorovska.

Кирило Бойко