According to speculation, Andrei Portnov, the former deputy head of Yanukovych’s administration, could be the organizer of the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
In these recordings, made in April-May 2014, Portnov communicates with the ex-head of the main department of justice of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in Crimea, Sergei Korovchenko, and the ex-deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Lev Mirimsky.
So, in one of the recordings made on April 5, 2014, Lev Mirimsky speaks on the phone with Andrei Portnov. Portnov had not been in Ukraine for two months at that time; he left in February 2014 through the Goptovka checkpoint towards Russia. Portnov and Mirimsky agree to meet the next day at the Ukraine Hotel in Moscow.
The next day, April 6, 2014, Portnov calls Sergei Korovchenko from Mirimsky’s phone. This is the ex-head of the main department of justice of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, assistant and confidant of Andrei Portnov. Korovchenko, judging by the audio, organized the meeting between Portnov and Mirimsky in Moscow. During this telephone conversation, Korovchenko confirms that he is following Portnov’s instructions.
Sergey Korovchenko: What’s there, how are you?
Andrey Portnov: Everything is fine, slowly.
Sergey Korovchenko: Okay, let’s, if anything, there are some instructions.
After returning from Moscow to Kyiv, Mirimsky constantly communicates with Korovchenko. They are planning a joint business trip to occupied Crimea on April 16, 2014.
As the audio suggests, the business trip to occupied Crimea occurs at the direction or with the knowledge of a “partner,” who is likely Portnov. Mirimsky, judging by the audio, will be in charge of the trip to occupied Crimea, and Korovchenko will oversee the resolution of certain issues.
Lev Mirimsky: Have you already talked to your partners?
Sergey Korovchenko: Uh... About what?
Lev Mirimsky: About the trip. Have I already told you?
Sergey Korovchenko: No, no one said anything.
Lev Mirimsky: No, well, I mean, partner. Where I was.
Sergey Korovchenko: He wrote to me briefly that I am with you there, this is the same, etc. Well, in general, nothing specific. He told me to do what you did there.
Lev Mirimsky: Oh! Do you understand who your boss is?
Sergey Korovchenko: Well, yes.
What did Korovchenko and Mirimsky plan to do in Crimea, as the audio suggests, with the knowledge or instructions of Portnov? It is known that Ukrainian investigators opened criminal proceedings against Sergei Korovchenko. As part of the investigation, the investigation verified Korovchenko’s involvement in preparing the peninsula under the “jurisdiction” of the Russian Federation.
The following audio confirms this. On them, Korovchenko and Mirimsky discuss their loss in court in some hypothetical case, and do not know whether Ukrainian or Russian courts will consider a future cassation. At the same time, they emphasize that the decision must be somehow influenced, and “AV” can do this - as can be assumed from the audio, we are talking about Andrei Vladimirovich Portnov.
In the next recording, Korovchenko and Mirimsky directly talk about the fact that they must decide the fate of almost 200 enterprises in occupied Crimea. As part of the same criminal proceedings, investigators, by the way, verified Korovchenko’s involvement in the “re-registration” of property in occupied Crimea through the courts.
On May 15-16, 2014, Mirimsky and Korovchenko in Moscow are planning a meeting with Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer, Putin’s confidant and chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Kucherena, by the way, was the lawyer of the former anti-aircraft gunner of the so-called “DPR” Vladimir Tsemakh, suspected of shooting down flight MH-17 in 2014.
Mirimsky, Korovchenko and Kucherena are discussing “Tavria” - according to hromadske’s sources, this is the so-called development strategy for Crimea. It was worked on in particular by the companies of the now sanctioned Russian oligarchs Rotenberg, SGM-Most and SGM-Tavria, which were later involved in the construction of the Kerch (Crimean) bridge and the “reconstruction” of Artek.
Already in another telephone conversation, Korovchenko asks Mirimsky clearly whether they will provide office space to Russian lawyers as part of their work on Crimea. And he clearly answers - yes. As can be assumed from the records, Portnov’s associates should provide Russians with offices not just anywhere, but in occupied Crimea.
