Head of Kyivmiskbud company leaves Ukraine with certificate of disability and conquers Everest

Ukrainska Pravda
·2 min read
6

Ihor Kushnir, the head of the Kyivmiskbud construction corporation, who conquered Mount Everest in May 2023, has left Ukraine with a disability certificate.

Source: bihus.info, a Ukrainian investigation project referring to its sources

Quote: "Ihor Kushnir, the president of Kyivmiskbud, and his wife Oksana climbed Mount Everest in May this year... It's a mystery how the official managed to leave [Ukraine – ed.] for health reasons and conquer such a peak, which is not easy even for trained healthy people."

Details: It is noted that Kushnir travelled abroad with a disability certificate, as a permit to leave Ukraine during martial law.

In addition, the couple's climb to Mount Everest cost them US$150,000.

Updated: After the investigation team's findings  were posted, representatives of Kushnir's press service contacted Ukrainska Pravda and confirmed his disability.

Quote: "Kushnir, indeed, has the third group of disability because since 2005 he has been fighting cancer (melanoma), which, the law stipulates, results in granting a third group of disability and periodic examinations, including those performed outside Ukraine. He had a number of operations performed to remove metastases in various organs and to remove the internal organs themselves.

At the same time, he is an experienced mountaineer who has climbed two "eight-thousanders" and seven "seven-thousanders" (mountains of respective heights – ed.).

Conquering Everest was Kushnir's dream, which he managed to fulfil only this year. He and his wife raised the flag of Ukraine at the world's highest peak."

For reference: Kushnir has been the president of Kyivmiskbud for more than 10 years. Bihus.info has noted that the company is 80% owned by the city of Kyiv. Early in 2023, the company suspended construction work and asked for additional funding from the budget.

Background:

  • On 3 July, journalists discovered a luxury villa on the Côte d'Azur registered to a French company, which was purchased three years ago by a company owned by Kushnir's wife; the latter responded by saying that he had no property outside Ukraine.

  • Earlier, journalists discovered that Kushnir's business associates and relatives built a gated cottage community on the land granted by Kyivmiskbud in the village of Kozyn, Kyiv Oblast.

  • The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has become interested in the activities of Kyivmiskbud, and the Kyiv City Council set up a special commission to verify the facts shared in the media.

  • The company's business has not been going well in recent years, and in early 2023, it suspended construction work and asked for additional funding from the budget.

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