Serbia grants citizenship to former Ukrainian MP Novynskyi, wanted on treason suspicion

Serbia has granted citizenship to former Ukrainian lawmaker and businessman Vadym Novynskyi, who is wanted in Ukraine on suspicion of high treason, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Sept. 26.

The decision was published in Serbia’s official gazette on Sept. 25 and had been signed a day earlier by Serbian Prime Minister Djuro Macut, according to RFE/RL.

Novynskyi received citizenship through a provision allowing Serbia to naturalize a foreign national under an expedited procedure when authorities determine that doing so is in the country’s interest. The Serbian government did not explain to RFE/RL what national interest justified granting Novynskyi citizenship.

Novynskyi, a Russian-born businessman who received Ukrainian citizenship in 2012, served several terms in Ukraine’s parliament and was previously affiliated with the pro-Russian Opposition Bloc.

Ukrainian law enforcement authorities notified Novynskyi in absentia in January 2025 that he was suspected of high treason and inciting religious hatred. Investigators accused him of promoting Russian narratives and acting in Russia’s interests through his political and religious activities.

A Kyiv court later ordered Novynskyi held in custody in absentia, while Ukrainian authorities placed him on a wanted list. Ukrainian investigators have referred to him as a former "curator" of the Russian Orthodox Church’s interests in Ukraine.

Novynskyi has rejected accusations that he works in Russia’s interests. In comments provided by his lawyer to RFE/RL earlier this year, he was described as a “staunch supporter of Ukraine,” while his legal team called efforts to portray him as connected to Russian structures unacceptable.

Ukraine imposed sanctions on Novynskyi in December 2022. He had announced several months earlier that he was giving up his parliamentary mandate. RFE/RL reported that he has not returned to Ukraine since 2022 and has since established residence in Croatia.

Novynskyi is not the first controversial foreign figure to obtain Serbian citizenship through the expedited procedure. RFE/RL found that the Serbian government has granted citizenship this way to more than 300 Russian nationals since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including businesspeople and public figures with links to the Kremlin or under Western sanctions.

The practice has drawn scrutiny from the European Union because Serbian passport holders can enter the bloc without visas, creating what Brussels has described as a potential security concern when citizenship is granted to sanctioned or politically connected Russian nationals.