close and trusted political advisor to Yanukovych during his time as President of Ukraine. Yanukovych served in that role until 2014, when he fled to Russia 854 amidst popular protests. iii. Konstantin Kilimnik Kilimnik is a Russian national who has lived in both Russia and Ukraine and 855 was a longtime Manafort employee. Kilimnik had direct and close access to Yanukovych and his senior entourage, and he facilitated communications between Manafort and his clients, including Yanukovych and multiple Ukrainian 856 oligarchs. Kilimnik also maintained a relationship with Deripaska’s deputy, 857 Viktor Boyarkin, a Russian national who previously served in the defense 858 attaché office of the Russian Embassy to the United States. Manafort told the Office that he did not believe Kilimnik was working as a 859 Russian “spy.” The FBI, however, assesses that Kilimnik has ties to Russian 860 intelligence. Several pieces of the Office’s evidence—including witness interviews and emails obtained through court-authorized search warrants— support that assessment: Kilimnik was born on April 27, 1970, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, then of the Soviet Union, and attended the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense 861 862 from 1987 until 1992. Sam Patten, a business partner to Kilimnik, stated that Kilimnik told him that he was a translator in the Russian army for seven years and that he later worked in the Russian armament industry 863 selling arms and military equipment. U.S. government visa records reveal that Kilimnik obtained a visa to travel 864 to the United States with a Russian diplomatic passport in 1997. Kilimnik worked for the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Moscow office, where he did translation work and general office management from 865 866 1998 to 2005. While another official recalled the incident differently, one former associate of Kilimnik’s at IRI told the FBI that Kilimnik was fired from his post because his links to Russian intelligence were too strong.