Deputies flee Ukraine during the war, using the pretext of volunteer work

While Ukrainians loyally defend their country from Russian invaders, some people's deputies, under the guise of volunteerism, fled the war and left their voters in the West due to the corrupt “Put” system.

Journalists from the NGL.media project continue to analyze the abuse of the “Put” system, this time focusing on deputies of local councils who left Ukraine as volunteers and did not return. Some remained in neighboring Poland, fate brought some to the United States, and some of the deputies have been collecting “humanitarian cargo” around the world for many months, which will never reach Ukraine.

Of course, these are not all local deputies who left the country after the invasion, because there are many other opportunities to leave besides the “Path”. During the research, the publication’s journalists found those who left in other ways: either by accompanying relatives with disabilities (let’s remember Dmitry Kopanchuk, the son of people’s deputy Elena Kopanchuk), or letters from border guards, etc.

Some of the deputies from the study have already independently contacted their councils with requests for recall and ceased to be deputies. But there are also those who continue to maintain this status, although they either do not take part in meetings with their colleagues at all, or participate via audio or video link. There are, however, local councils that have never met after a full-scale invasion.

If deputies miss more than half of the meetings of the local council during the year without good reason, this is grounds for their recall and deprivation of their mandate. The local council can also submit such a proposal to the local party cell from which such a deputy was elected, or the party cell itself can initiate a recall. There is also the possibility of a voter-initiated recall.

* all data on male MPs in this article is current as of mid-September 2023

Deputies remotely

On the morning of January 31 this year, 31-year-old deputy of the Kharkov regional council Vitaly Abramov left the country. He managed to cross the border without any problems, because the Kharkov OVA entered him as a volunteer into the “Path” system. The car in which Abramov left returned to Ukraine on the same day, but without him.

Vitaly Abramov got into the regional council from the banned pro-Russian party “Opposition Platform - For Life” (OPZZH), but in the spring of 2022, according to the Public, he left the party faction. At the time of the elections, he worked in the department of the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate in the Kharkov region, and before that, a private entrepreneur received small budget orders. This year, meetings of the Kharkov Regional Council are being held via video link and, according to documents, Vitaly Abramov took part in them.

Journalists were unable to speak with Vitaly Abramov, although his fellow deputies provided his telephone number. The regional council responded to an official request from NGL.media with a reply that there was no signature on the electronic request.

Journalists found out that Abramova was added to the Put system by the Kharkov OVA. The first time this happened was on August 10, 2022, at the request of the Sarkis Davtyan Charitable Foundation, and the second time, on November 9, 2022, at the request of the Charitable Foundation “Help to Ukrainians 2022”. The last permit was valid until January 31, 2023 - it was on that day that Abramov left. As proof of the deputy’s volunteer activities, the head of the “Help to Ukrainians 2022” fund, Vladislav Rostokyan, sent NGL.media a copy of the declaration for 50 turnstiles imported by Abramov. Judging by the stamp on the document, Abramov delivered these turnstiles on January 23, that is, even before his final departure abroad. Journalists asked Rostokyan to clarify the date of delivery of the goods, but for several weeks they did not receive an explanation.

Another colleague of Abramov in the OPZH, 35-year-old deputy of the Novomoskovsky district council in the Dnepropetrovsk region Maxim Krivda, according to the publication’s source in the State Border Service, left the country in December 2022. He traveled by train as a volunteer with permission from the Dnepropetrovsk OVA, according to which he had to return by January 15.

The day after leaving, Krivda took part in a sessional meeting: he was included due to audio communication, along with 11 other deputies.

Krivda’s mobile phone number is no longer in service, and he also does not respond to emails. And the head of the Novomoskovsk district council, Sergei Khrapov, told NGL.media that he had not seen him since December last year. Some deputies with whom the NGL.media journalist was able to speak also confirmed that he did not appear in person at the council this year.

In 2021, Maxim Krivda worked for three months as director of the Maryanovskoe utility company of the Gubinissky village council in the Dnepropetrovsk region. According to YouControl, as of 2022, he also headed the local OPZZH cell in Dnipro.

Another current deputy of the Kharkov district council, 39-year-old Stanislav Lebedev, according to a source in the State Tax Service, also used the train to cross the border. He left Ukraine in November 2022, after which he went into hiding. Lebedev, who became a deputy from the OPZZH, indicated in his declaration that he was unemployed and had no income, the Kharkov Anti-Corruption Center reported. In 2021, Lebedev managed to find a job and immediately in a leadership position - he was appointed director of the Underground City utility company, where he worked for a little over a year.

Stanislav Lebedev

The Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine added Stanislav Lebedev to the “Path” system. All his phone numbers discovered by journalists are no longer current, and the district council reported that Lebedev did not attend any of the session meetings held during 2022-2023, but did not submit an application to resign as deputy.

Even earlier, in September 2022, 43-year-old priest and deputy of the Kherson district council from “European Solidarity” Igor Semenikhin left. Moreover, he left on the very first day of validity of the permit issued by the Kherson OVA. Semenikhin was supposed to return by September 27, but something went wrong and he disappeared. Now the deputy’s phone is out of zone, and he does not respond to messages in instant messengers, although it seems that he is quite active on his Facebook page.

Igor Semenikhin

Deputy Chairman of the Kherson District Council Yuriy Mariev told NGL.media that since the full-scale invasion of the Russian invaders, this council has not met (which is understandable), and at the last meeting on February 23, 2022, Igor Semenikhin was absent. In general, Mariev describes his colleague positively: “He is a very decent person, he has always supported the support of our army.”

Igor Semenikhin worked for many years as a military chaplain in the State Border Service, although he did not officially serve. Shortly before leaving Ukraine, Semenikhin visited the military with fruit, which he wrote about on Facebook. And already in November 2022, he published a photo with his 21-year-old son Nikolai, who apparently lived in Chicago. “A long-awaited meeting,” Semenikhin signed this photo, which is why he probably went to his son in the USA.

According to the publication’s sources among border guards, 46-year-old deputy of the Soledar City Council Sergei Petrov also went abroad in March of this year. At the beginning of 2023, he became the hero of a report by Suspilny. From this story it is known that Petrov worked for 25 years at the State Enterprise “Artemsol”, and after the invasion of the Russians, he and his family went to the Dnieper, and from there to Pavlograd, where he began working in the mine.

Sergey Petrov

A month after the publication of this report, Sergei Petrov left Ukraine - he was added to the “Path” system by the Volyn OVA. And already in September 2023, Petrov published a photo on social networks with his daughter from Poland.

Sergey Petrov did not respond to NGL.media’s message. The Soledar City Council reported that meetings were not being held due to hostilities, but refused to share Petrov’s contacts. The Volyn OVO claims that the charitable foundation “We Believe in Ukraine” asked Petrov to be included in the “Path”, so they gave such permission, but allowed him to leave for a maximum of two weeks. The head of the “We Believe in Ukraine” foundation, Anatoly Shvab, said that he remembers an appeal from a military unit, for which Petrov was supposed to bring a car. But he doesn’t remember how it all ended, nor does he remember the name of the military unit.

Artem Sunduchnikov, a 36-year-old deputy of the Dobropolsky City Council of the Donetsk region from the party with an ambiguous reputation “Order”, went abroad in March 2023 based on the decision of the Zhytomyr OVA. They say that they issued the permit at the request of the St. Michael's Cathedral in Zhitomir. WTO priest Bogdan Boyko confirmed that this happened. According to him, Artem Sunduchnikov himself asked to be included in “Puti”. The church distributes food for displaced people, so Sunduchnikov was supposed to bring food, but after receiving permission he simply disappeared.

De Artyom Sunduchnikov is now, it was not possible to find out. And the deputy’s phones are out of reach.

During the war, deputies of the Dobropolsky City Council do not meet and do not make decisions, the reception city council told NGL.media. All decisions are made personally by the head of the Dobropil city military administration, Andrei Bondarenko.

“Artem Sunduchnikov, in parallel with being a deputy, worked as the head of the heat supply utility company Dobro. He resigned from his position on the day of my appointment [September 7, 2022], so he and I did not work together. After the appointment of a new director of the utility company, he had questions for Sunduchnikov, but no one could find him. And as a deputy, I didn’t work with him either,” Andrei Bondarenko said in a commentary to NGL.media.

Seven exes

Another seven deputies of local councils not only went abroad, but also renounced their parliamentary powers. That is, they decided not to even pretend that they were interested in the future fate of the communities where they were elected.

For example, in the Ternopil region, 36-year-old deputy of the Chertkiv City Council from the “Power of People” party and ex-head of the Chertkiv municipal guard Nazariy Piptik wrote a letter of early resignation on January 26, 2023, and three days later he crossed the border as a volunteer, the publication’s sources indicate . Already on February 6, Piptik’s colleagues voted for his resignation and expelled him from the standing commission on issues of parliamentary ethics and compliance with the rule of law. Journalists were unable to get his comment.

Nazariy Piptik

Nazariya Piptik was added to the “Path” system by the Kiev OVA, where they claim that he was supposed to return by February 26.

“The military unit sent a corresponding letter to grant Piptik Nazariy Vladimirovich permission to travel outside of Ukraine using the Path system,” said Sergei Beletsky, deputy chairman of the Kyiv OV, in response to a request from NGL.media.

The mayor of Chertkov, Vladimir Shmatko, recorded a video message in February 2023, where he announced the departure abroad of several city council officials, among whom was Nazariy Piptik. According to him, Nazariy Piptik quit his job shortly before going abroad.

“I thank Nazariy: he has been with us dozens of times in the east and dozens of times abroad. Now there is also information that he went along the humanitarian route, which was provided to him by other volunteer organizations... He is collecting cargo and planning to return. When this will be, and where he is now, I don’t know. But he wrote to me that in the near future he will return to Chortkiv and continue to help us and the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Shmatko said.

Almost ten months passed after these words from Mayor Cherkov, but Piptik never returned to Ukraine with the promised humanitarian cargo. Now Vladimir Shmatko, in a conversation with NGL.media, assures that although Piptik remains abroad, he still transfers some kind of assistance to the local charitable foundation “Pokrov Chertkov”.

The head of this fund, priest Andrey Levkovich, clarified to NGL.media that during the entire period of his stay abroad, Nazariy Piptik transferred 12 thousand UAH to the fund’s account, but did not send any humanitarian aid.

According to the results of roll-call votes, 37-year-old deputy of the OPZZh Boryspil City Council in the Kiev region Sergei Pashin also missed all sessions of the session this year. At the time of the 2020 elections, he worked as the first deputy head of the Belotserkovsk local prosecutor's office, but, according to YouControl, he filed a declaration that same year before resigning. According to NGL.media’s source in the State National Security Service, back in April 2022, he went abroad using the “Path” system.

Sergey Pashin

The local deputy of the Kyiv region was included in the “Path” system by the Chernivtsi Regional Administration at the request of the “World of the Future” charitable foundation. According to the head of this fund, Alla Zoriy, Sergei Pashin still helps them. “He completely organizes all assistance abroad, looking for finances and donors. The last time I saw him was about a month ago abroad. But they told me that a few weeks ago he was in Ukraine, but I wasn’t there then,” said Alla Zoriy. She promised to convey to him a request for comment and telephone numbers of NGL.media, but the journalists never received Pashin’s call.

It seems that for a long time he could not decide whether he wanted to continue to remain a deputy in Boryspil. The City Council reported that in August Pashin first submitted an application for early termination of his parliamentary powers, but then withdrew it. However, deputies of the Boryspil City Council at a meeting on November 10 already deprived all deputies from OPZZH of their powers, including Pashin.

The last message on Sergei Pashin’s Facebook page is dated March 30 last year. After an NGL.media journalist contacted him with a personal message, he blocked her and closed her profile.

54-year-old deputy of the Pokrovsky District Council in Krivoy Rog from the Vilkul Bloc “Ukrainian Perspective” Yuriy Krasnozhon, who was deputy chairman of the council, went abroad in January 2023. Krasnozhon crossed the border at the Rava-Russkaya-Grebennoye checkpoint in the Lviv region and, according to sources, had not returned to Ukraine as of mid-September.

Yuri Krasnozhon

It is likely that Krasnozhon may now be in Poland. He managed to leave the country thanks to the order of the Dnepropetrovsk Regional State Administration. They reported that they allowed him to travel abroad three times. He actually left the country and returned several times. The last permit was valid until January 26, 2023 - it was on this day that he left and did not return.

In the summer, local journalists wrote that Yuri Krasnozhon was on leave without pay. As the district council reported in response to a request from NGL.media, during January-August of this year, Krasnozhon did not attend council meetings, he was given leave eight times - both paid and unpaid. And in August he was deprived of his powers as a deputy.

40-year-old deputy of the Buchansky District Council of the Kyiv Region Svyatoslav Kutsenko from “Batkivshchyna” went abroad with permission from the Ministry of Infrastructure and, according to the publication, also did not return. Kutsenko has a rather controversial reputation: he voted for scandalous decisions, and in 2017 he was deprived of his parliamentary powers in the Irpin City Council.

Svyatoslav Kutsenko

In January 2023, Kutsenko crossed the border by car at the Krakovets-Korcheva checkpoint with Poland. His phone number is not currently in service, and the district council told NGL.media that in February Kutsenko joined a session meeting via video link, but was absent at the next meeting in May. In August, at the request of the deputy, his powers were terminated early.

43-year-old deputy of the Zolochevsky district council from “Strength and Honor” in the Lviv region, Boris Dovbeta, left Ukraine through the “Path” system back in April last year - thanks to the appeal of the Zolochevsky district council to the Lviv OVA. His permit was valid until May 6, 2022, LOVA said.

Boris Dovbeta

According to the head of the Zolochevsky district council, Orest Kavetsky, Dovbeta had previously carried humanitarian aid from abroad, so the district council asked the OBA to let him go abroad. According to Kavetsky, Dovbeta wrote a statement about deprivation of his mandate, and in June of this year his request was granted. It is unknown where Dovbeta is now. “I haven’t communicated with him since he went abroad,” Orest Kavetsky clarified to NGL.media.

Last summer, Vitaly Dorokhin, a 47-year-old deputy of the Dnieper district council from the Servant of the People, went abroad with the permission of the Ministry of Infrastructure. According to documents on the council’s website, the deputy constantly skipped council meetings.

Vitaly Dorokhin

Chairman of the Council Maxim Leshchenko said that on June 2 of this year Dorokhin wrote a statement renouncing his mandate and his powers were terminated early in September.

32-year-old Roman Reznik, who was elected to the Saksagansky district council of Krivoy Rog from the Servant of the People, also resigned early as a deputy. “The council took into account his statement, and he was removed from the deputy corps. Another deputy has already taken his place,” said the chairman of the district council, Vasily Starovoyt.

Roman Reznik

It turned out that Roman Reznik left the country in August last year, and was deprived of his deputy mandate in the summer of this year. According to Ukrtransbezopasnost, Roman Reznik was entered into the “Put” system by the Lviv Regional State Administration and left the very next day after receiving permission. The public organization “Theater Bread” from Nikolaev in the Lviv region applied for Reznik’s departure to the LOV. Let us recall that “Theater Khleb” and the local Prosvita cell associated with it topped the list of organizations involved in the escape of the largest number of men through the “Path”. Later it turned out that these organizations are led by 34-year-old Natalya Mukha, close to the relatives of the chairman of LOVA.