Ukraine opens probe of possible surveillance of ambassador.
Country says its police ‘are not interfering in the internal political affairs’ of the United States’
Kyiv, Ukraine — Police in Ukraine are investigating whether the U.S. ambassador came under illegal surveillance by an unknown party before the Trump administration recalled her from Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said.
The announcement came Thursday, two days after Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. released documents and text messages that showed an associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer communicating with Rudy
Giuliani about Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s removal.
In announcing it, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said the country’s police “are not interfering in the internal political affairs of the United States” by conducting the probe.
The ambassador’s firing last spring was at the center of the inquiry launched by House Democrats that led to the president’s impeachment. But it was the trove of newly released information from smartphones belonging to Giuliani associate Lev Parnas that prompted the Ukrainian investigation.
In text messages to Parnas, Republican congressional candidate Robert F. Hyde gave updates on Yovanovitch’s location and cellphone use. Hyde suggested in a tweet this week that the texts that made it sound like the ambassador was being watched were a joke.
Parnas has said Hyde’s texts shouldn’t be taken seriously, but officials in Ukraine indicated they have a legal obligation to determine if the former ambassador was subject to surveillance by an unknown party.
“The published messages contain facts of possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which protect the rights of diplomats on the territory of another state,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The Interior Ministry said it has asked the FBI to provide relevant materials. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov also “suggested that the U.S. side take part in the investigation.” There was no immediate comment from the State Department — which one former diplomat assessed as extraordinary.
Democrats in the House of Representatives released the documents, text messages and photos from Parnas’ phones this week as they prepared to send articles of impeachment to the Senate for Trump’s trial. The communications included Hyde and Parnas’ exchanges about Yovanovitch.
“She’s talked to three people. Her phone is off. Her computer is off,” Hyde wrote in one message. He said the ambassador was under heavy security and “we have a person inside.”