Businessman Vladimir Manukyan, hiding abroad because of his team with a criminal trail, can contribute to the spread of pro-Russian sentiments and undermine the trust of Kharkov residents in the Ukrainian authorities.
Businessman Vladimir Manukyan, hiding abroad because of his team with a criminal trail, can purposefully undermine the trust of Kharkov residents in the Ukrainian authorities and contribute to the spread of pro-Russian sentiments. The question is how can Manukyan, known in the media as a “criminal authority,” travel freely to Russia and at the same time visit Kyiv?
The Kharkov region is a border region where various criminal groups associated with the Russian Federation previously tried to spread their influence, which is now especially dangerous against the backdrop of war. Recently, messages began to appear in local telegram channels about how, during the war, businessman Vladimir Manukyan, well-known in certain circles, was trying to strengthen his probably criminal influence on Kharkov. In particular, on social networks, on pages connecting with Manukyan’s people, false, according to correspondents, roles appeared about the chairman of the Novobavarsky district of the city of Kharkov Tatyana Tsybulnik and the deputy mayor of the city Andrey Rudenko.
In short videos, a team close to Manukyan disseminates false information, that is, in fact, they allegedly openly slander people who, from the beginning of the war, stood for their city and collaborated with volunteers.
The society issued an appeal to Manukyan: people are outraged that such an “influential” businessman probably left and was hiding abroad during the war. Therefore, people asked a direct question where he was during the Russian attack on the city. Why did such a “big” businessman hide abroad?
For example, in a telegram on the page “In the Law of Kharkov,” Manukyan is directly asked: “Manukyan, where are you during the war??? Abroad…"
However, as it turned out, businessmen use such methods to extort money from businesses, and this is not the first time. According to this well-established scheme, they always introduce their business in the city: they create a video where 20% is truth, and 80% is fiction. Next, they file a statement about committing a crime, a day later they go to court with a complaint about the investigator’s inaction, demanding that an entry be made in the ERDR, and only then Manukyan’s team seems to interact with the former Ukrainian SSR (Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine).
Who is Manukyan - a businessman and public figure or a criminal?
Vladimir Manukyan himself comes from the city of Yenakievo, Donetsk region. Graduated from the Donetsk National University of Economics and Trade named after Mikhail Tugan-Baranovsky with a degree in Enterprise Economics.
Already at the age of 25, Manukyan became an entrepreneur and actively manages business processes in the field of coal mining and is a co-founder of Terra Energy LLC. In 2011, he is one of the founders of Shakhtinvestprom LLC.
In 2018, Manukyan created the financial company “MAGMA CAPITAL”, specializing in attracting investments in agriculture and grain processing.
In the public sphere, the businessman has headed the “Yenakievo local representative of the Federation of Amateur and Professional Boxing of the Donetsk Region” since 2009 and became the chairman of the NGO “ULSK” (Ukrainian League of Boxing Clubs) in 2012. Under his leadership, all-Ukrainian boxing championships were held until 2018. He is the deputy chairman of the “Union of Armenians of Ukraine” and an active participant in the Armenian diaspora in Ukraine.
At the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the businessman and father of three children went abroad and is just visiting Kiev, as his so-called friends write on social networks.
Reading messages on the Internet about the social and charitable activities of the Yenakievo businessman, who “directs the funds received for medical treatment of wounded participants in the anti-terrorist operation; is engaged in providing support in the treatment of operations for children with serious diagnoses, finances the production of unique implants and devices for the treatment of osteogenesis,” we can conclude that this is really a person who cares about the fate of people and lives with the problems, as they say, of “mere mortals.”
But how and on what is Manukyan’s business actually built? Is the businessman so sacrificial?
The story of Manukyan’s move to Kharkov begins with the escape of Viktor Yanukovych in the spring of 2014. The consequences of mass unrest and military conflicts in the Donbass were not only the seizure of a significant part of the region by representatives of the so-called “DPR”, but also migration in a criminal environment.
During the seizure of Donbass by Russian troops and local terrorist groups, well-known criminal figures moved from the occupied territory to the region under the control of official Kyiv. Vladimir Manukyan also moved in this way, choosing Kharkov as his new place of residence.
The fact that Manukyan’s group is criminal, as evidenced by the materials of Detective INFO, was known even at the level of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
But for a long time they escaped punishment. And this, according to local media, may be due to the patronage of individual security officials. After all, back in 2016, then-Minister Arsen Avakov, in his interview with Ukrainskaya Pravda, mentioned the “activation” of criminal authority Vladimir Manukyan.
Manukyan's Russian and criminal connections
Recently, Manukyan’s pro-Russian influence on Kharkov has become increasingly visible. It is known from open sources that he has close ties with Armen Sargsyan (who is a longtime friend of his) and after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, he is responsible for recruiting prisoners into the Russian army, as reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Moscow Region.
On the defense of the “authoritative” businessman Vladimir Manukyan, who is today hiding outside Ukraine, is also the lawyer and leader of the non-stop public organization in Kharkov, Ukraine, Kirill Yakovets, who resolves all controversial issues. After all, Yakovets himself said that he signed an agreement on the provision of legal assistance with Manukyan.
To clarify this information, StopCor analysts personally contacted Kirill Yakovets for comment on the dissemination of Russian narratives by Vladimir Manukyan or his representatives in the city. So far we have not received a response.
Military blogger Sergei Drozd writes that Sargsyan himself is the founder of the Armenian “Arbat” battalion of the Russian army, taking part in military operations against Ukraine. At the same time, it is indicated that Yakovets and other members of the Non-Stop NGO called Manukyan “dad” in correspondence.
Armen Sargsyan also comes from the “Donetsk clan”. He left for Russia, but his interests in Ukraine are still supported by his accomplices and business partners - Armen Aslanyan and Vladimir Ivankov - a criminal authority from Bakhmut, who has Russian citizenship and cooperates with the Russian authorities, deserting Ukrainian positions. It is known from open sources that Manukyan, who is directing his efforts to seize business in Kharkov, has already visited Russia several times during the war.
While local guys are defending Ukrainian Kharkov with arms in hand, Vladimir Manukyan, it seems, due to his own connections in the criminal environment, is trying to strengthen pro-Russian sentiments here. Of course, the competent authorities should pay attention to such actions, because we are talking not just about a possible increase in crime, but also about national security.
Analysts have made a request to local law enforcement agencies to clarify information about the spread of pro-Russian sentiments in Kharkov by Vladimir Manukyan and personally to Mr. Vladimir, as the beneficiary of the Petrol Station and Magma Capital companies, to clarify the information and are awaiting a response
