Former Ukrainian MPs sneak across border posing as volunteers
Former MPs – Serhiy Katsuba, Oleksandr Tretyakov, and Oleksandr Zats – crossed the Ukrainian border, posing as volunteers using the Shlyakh system, and did not return, NGL.media reported on Dec. 27.
A journalistic investigation revealed that Serhiy Katsuba, a 44-year-old member of the now-banned pro-Russian Party of Regions, left Ukraine on July 6, 2022. He is implicated in multiple embezzlement cases at Ukraine’s Naftogaz, including a scheme related to “Boyko Towers.” These drilling rigs, Petro Hodovanets and Nezalezhnist, were purchased at double their actual value, involving then Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko.
Katsuba utilized the Shlyakh system to leave the country, registering as a driver-transporter of humanitarian cargo two weeks before his departure, facilitated by the Communities and Territories Development Ministry.
The application for his exit, filed by Kyiv-based Mix Travel Group LTD, was disclosed by the Ministry. In July 2023, the director of the group, Serhiy Boyko, received a five-year probation sentence for involvement in an illegal exit scheme. Katsuba did not return, NGL.media reported.
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Then there’s Oleksandr Tretyakov, a 53-year-old ex-legislator from Our Ukraine and Petro Poroshenko Bloc, who left Ukraine on April 19, 2022, as per State Border Guard Service sources.
Lviv Oblast Military Administration added Tretyakov to the Shlyakh system, according to the state service for transport safety. Despite initial denials in 2023, the administration eventually confirmed the documentation on the third attempt.
Tretyakov sought assistance from the public organization Narodna Samooborona Lvivshchyny (Lviv People’s Self-defense) to cross the border. He approached them, claiming to bring cargo for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including vehicles, bulletproof vests, helmets, and radios, from abroad in March-April of the previous year. However, his social media posts soon shifted to reposts of news and holiday greetings.
Former Party of Regions MP Oleksandr Zats reportedly applied for volunteering after the Russian full-scale invasion began. In June 2022, Kherson Oblast Military Administration added him twice to the Shlyakh system as a volunteer. On June 27, Zats crossed into Hungary and never came back, according to NGL.media.
Read also: Nearly 19,000 men fled Ukraine by misusing "Shlyakh" information system
The public organization Ukrainian National-Patriotic Youth from Lviv, led by Petro Rapita, assisted Zats in his exit. Rapita acknowledged cooperation with Zats only on the second attempt, asserting that Zats left but supposedly returned, bringing tactical supplies for the military.
The Shlyakh system, launched by Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers on March 17, 2022, permits male drivers of military age to cross the border when transporting humanitarian aid or medical supplies.
Approximately 6,000 men of military age leave Ukraine through the western border every day, the State Border Guard Service reported on Dec. 20.
According to spokesman Andriy Demchenko, 50% of departing men aged 18 to 60 are truck and bus drivers. The departing group also includes individuals with disabilities, parents of many children, and 3% are volunteers.
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