Russia has brought its first known treason case based on tax payments to Ukraine

Oleg Varyukhin, a businessman who lived in Ukraine for 27 years before moving back to Russia, has been charged with treason for paying Ukraine's mandatory military levy into its state budget, according to Mediazona. He was detained in May 2026 at Moscow's airport. The charge stems from his tax payments in Ukraine, and it is unclear which specific tax Varyukhin was accused of not paying.

Russia's Federal Security Service discovered evidence of the tax payments on Varyukhin's phone during a search at the airport. Although treason convictions for tax payments to foreign countries have occurred in Russia before, Varyukhin is the first known individual to be prosecuted for treason based on tax payments to Ukraine's state budget.

Born in Norilsk and moving to Ukraine in 1999, Varyukhin ran a perfume shop there and remained a citizen of neither country, as he had left Russia with Soviet documents. In 2026, he traveled to Russia via Moldova to update his documents but was immediately detained upon arrival. Varyukhin's lawyer, Yuri Shel, described the treason charge as absurd, asserting that individuals are obligated to pay taxes in any country they reside in and have no control over how those funds are allocated. Despite his arguments, the court upheld the decision.