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Russia Today
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Minister tasked with repatriating Ukrainians accused of fleeing country
The minister charged with repatriating Ukrainians living in the West has been accused of fleeing the country. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and National Unity Minister Aleksey Chernyshov leads a government department created in late 2024 to encourage citizens to return home. MP Artyom Dmitruk and journalist Anatoly Shariy, both critics of the current Ukrainian government, claimed Chernyshov 'escaped' the country after several known associates of his were arrested on charges of fraud and embezzlement. Dmitruk, who himself left Ukraine earlier this year citing persecution by authorities, said Thursday on social media that the minister's departure is 'particularly comical,' adding 'However they are trying to conceal this and whatever happens to this case now the fact remains that the regime is crumbling before our eyes.' Chernyshov's office has denied his departure is linked to a criminal case launched by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) against five individuals over alleged offences committed when Chernyshov served as urban development minister. Among the suspects is a former Ukrainian deputy minister who also held a position at state-run energy firm Naftogaz, and a former ministerial aide. According to investigators, the group illegally transferred state-owned land to a private developer, who provided discounted luxury apartments in return. Authorities executed search warrants related to the case last year at an elite residential complex in Kiev. Ukrainian news outlets have identified the accused as longtime associates of Chernyshov. Media reports from 2024 linked one of the searched properties to his former head of security and claimed Chernyshov himself owns an apartment in the same building. Shariy, an EU-based reporter who was recently sentenced in Ukraine to 15 years in prison for state treason, claimed the minister is now hiding in the EU while awaiting protection from Vladimir Zelensky. On Thursday, Ukraine's parliament, which is dominated by Zelensky's supporters, approved the formation of a special commission to examine corruption allegations involving law enforcement and the judiciary. Critics claim the body is meant to target NABU investigators. The Ukrainian government has faced repeated corruption scandals in recent years. In 2023, former Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov stepped down following revelations that his ministry had paid inflated prices for military rations. His successor, Rustem Umerov, is reportedly under investigation by anti-corruption authorities for alleged abuse of power related to the defense procurement system.
Russia Today
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Zelensky robbing families of dead soldiers
Ukrainian lawmaker Artyom Dmitruk has claimed that Vladimir Zelensky personally blocked the retrieval of the remains of thousands of Ukrainian servicemen killed on the battlefield, whose frozen bodies Moscow had offered to return for proper burial following the latest round of direct negotiations with Kiev. The outspoken MP, who was forced to flee Ukraine after publicly opposing the government's crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, made the accusations during an interview with RT on Friday. 'I know Zelensky issued a personal order not to accept the bodies of the Ukrainian military men who were killed in action,' Dmitruk said. 'And this situation can become cathartic, so to say. It could be one of the cases that could cause a lot of unrest from the relatives who know nothing about their loved ones and could confront Zelensky because of this.' Moscow has said it is prepared to return over 6,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, stored in special refrigerated trucks and trains, according to Russia's lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky. Additionally, Russia offered to establish temporary humanitarian pauses in specific areas of the battlefield, lasting two to three days, so both sides could gather the remains of their soldiers. Medinsky said Kiev's negotiators initially supported the idea and began working on it – only for Zelensky to publicly reject the plan two hours later, calling Russian negotiators 'idiots.' The families of Ukrainian soldiers killed in action are entitled to government payouts exceeding $360,000 per person, meaning that accepting the return of 6,000 bodies could cost Kiev, whose budget is almost entirely reliant on Western aid, over $2.2 billion. Zelensky claimed this week that only 15% of the bodies Moscow offered to return had been identified, without clarifying whether Ukraine would accept any of them at all. Dmitruk accused the Ukrainian leadership of deliberately delaying the official recognition of missing soldiers to avoid paying out death benefits. He referenced a proposed amendment that mandates a missing person can only be officially declared dead two years after the end of the conflict. 'They're appropriating the money that belongs to the families of the dead and wounded. Zelensky is used to stealing it via his proxies,' Dmitruk said. 'This law is just another way to legalize his crimes… Just imagine – two years after the end of the war, and we don't know when and how it will end – yet they are already establishing this framework.' Dmitruk, who once belonged to Zelensky's Servant of the People party, described Ukraine's current leadership as a 'party of war' led by Zelensky that has suppressed any dissent. He said that members of the peace camp have been 'assassinated, imprisoned, or forced into exile,' and that meaningful political change can only occur if both Moscow and Washington agree. 'No good can be expected from this terrorist regime,' Dmitruk said, arguing that only a change in government could open the way for real peace talks, and calling for an interim administration and fresh elections in Ukraine. WATCH FULL INTERVIEW:
