Senate aide under investigation for giving $30,000 in sniper equipment to Ukraine soldiers during multiple trips to the front line

An influential Senate staffer is under investigation for allegedly supplying sniper supplies to Ukraine during multiple trips to the country during its ongoing war against Russia.

Kyle Parker, the senior Senate aide being investigated, serves on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe - known as the Helsinki Commission - which informs important policy decisions regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war. 

He has traveled to the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia war 'wearing camouflage' and Ukrainian 'military insignia,' according to an internal Helsinki Commission report reviewed by the New York Times.

In addition, Parker allegedly hired a Ukrainian Parliamentarian official for a U.S. government fellowship position despite protestations by both security and ethics officials in Congress, according to the Times.

As a result of the above activities, he could be operating as an unregistered foreign agent. That is a serious charge that could carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison if charges are referred to the FBI and he is convicted.

Kyle Parker has made multiple trips to Ukraine during the war, including to the front lines

Many images on Parker's social media show him posing with Ukrainian service members 

A sniper from Ukraine takes position during a reconnaissance mission in September 2023 

The report was authored by the Helsinki Commission's general counsel, Michael Geffroy, and executive director, Steven Schrage.

A representative for Parker denied the staffer committed wrongdoing, and said the report is a form of retaliation for his previous accusations of misconduct against the authors, according to the Times.

The authors of the report reportedly suggest Parker was either 'wittingly or unwittingly being targeted and exploited by a foreign intelligence service.' 

The commission's chairman, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.,  took action to have Parker fired due to the allegations contained in the report.

'I urgently recommend you secure his immediate resignation or termination,' Wilson wrote in a November letter to the commission's co-chairman, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.

Parker, who joined in 2018, remains on the commission pending further investigation. According to his bio page, he speaks fluent Russian and previously served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for then-Ranking Member Eliot Engel.

DailyMail.com reached out to the Helsinki Commission, and Wilson and Cardin's offices for comment. 

Images from his social media, meanwhile, show him draped in Ukrainian-styled camouflage while on various trips to the front lines. 

'Plotting the liberation of #Luhansk,' Parker wrote in a social media post last year.

He also has posted many photos of mortars and other explosive ordinance while touring the front lines.

NATO troops in Poland conduct exercises using an array of sniper rifles

Parker reportedly purchased $30,000 worth of sniper gear for the Ukrainian military 

During a 2023 lecture at the University of Maine, Parker told the audience 'you never go into wartime Ukraine with an empty suitcase.'

He also said during that speech that a relative in Ukraine gave him $30,000 which he later used to purchase wind gauges and range finders for 'guys who are going to take it up with the snipers in the front.'

One post from Parker suggested that he drove to the Ukrainian front lines himself. 

'Putting thousands of kilometers on the car, living off gas station hot dogs, black coffee, cigarettes ... Plus the lights go out sometimes and the air raid sirens wail. #Ukraine at war.'

Parker has referred to himself as 'the most well-traveled American official in wartime Ukraine.' 

Visiting the war's front lines is not illegal for U.S. citizens, despite a State Department travel advisory warning against such travel.

The turmoil at the Helsinki Commission comes at a turbulent time for Ukraine as U.S. lawmakers have not yet signed-off on additional funding for the country's war. 

Despite the Senate passing a foreign aid deal that would unlock $61 billion for the Ukrainian war effort, the bill has not yet been picked up by the House. 

Ukrainian officials in Kyiv have blamed recent battlefield losses on dwindling military support from the U.S.

The House is now considering its own bipartisan foreign aid package to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.