The European Commission has fired a French-Ukrainian dual-citizen translator on suspicion of spying for Russia. She was exposed in the transcript of recordings made during a closed-door meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and EU leaders in Brussels in late 2024.

Politico and the French newspaper Le Monde write about this , Censor.NET reports .

The incident occurred on December 19, 2024, during a meeting of the European Council in Brussels. The meeting was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to the European Commission’s code of conduct, it is prohibited to take written notes during closed meetings where defense and security issues are discussed.

The results of the internal investigation have been passed on to Belgian authorities, who will determine whether to continue the investigation and whether the translator’s actions are part of a Russian espionage operation.

According to Le Monde, at that meeting, EU leaders promised to provide Ukraine with at least 30 billion euros in financial assistance in 2025, which was to go towards the purchase of weapons and the protection of energy infrastructure.

During the discussions, the Czech translators noticed their colleague, responsible for the Ukrainian translation, Ms. I., in a neighboring booth, transcribing the content of the ongoing discussions. This was immediately reported to the security services, who burst into the booth and caught the translator red-handed.

They confiscated all her recordings and forced her to leave the premises. An investigation was launched the same day, her accreditation was revoked, and she was banned from entering the European Commission premises.

The publication writes that the girl was born into a Russian family and lived in Ukraine with her sister, who was also a translator.

They worked for about 20 years as freelance translators at NATO, the European Commission, and the French Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs.

When asked by Le Monde, the European Commission confirmed: “The incident related to note-taking, prohibited by our code of conduct, did indeed occur during the meeting on December 19, 2024. The notes were confiscated. After a thorough examination of the facts, it was decided not to use the interpreter’s services any longer.”

The publication adds that the Ukrainian embassies in France and Brussels have refused to allow this person to be present at meetings of the President of Ukraine for several years.

They pointed to the fact that she maintains professional relationships with Russian officials.

In a comment to Le Monde, she said she was “very surprised that she was approached with such a trivial question.”

She said it was simply a misunderstanding. She then declined to comment on the illegal recording at the European Commission, saying only that “everything related to my work as a translator is classified.”

Author:  Valeria Sushkova Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/n3562455

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