The gang "Armen Horlivskyi" is raising its head

Gangsters from Yura Yenakiyevskyi’s entourage are seizing power in the frontline zone.

It seems that the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) in the Donetsk region supports a former member of Yura Yenakiyevskyi’s group, publicly known as Chikyan.

In the spring, SBU officers saved him from an assassination attempt, and now they are "pressuring competitors." Serhiy Andriychenko (Chikyan) often remained in the shadows during the Family’s times, publicly appearing as a sponsor of boxing tournaments in Krasnoarmiysk and "controlled" the city. In the winter of 2013-2014, he supplied titushki to the anti-Maidan in Donetsk and Kyiv, and under the current government, he planned to legalize himself as a politician. Sources claim he works closely with Ivan Yevanishchenko’s MP Oleh Nedava and travels to Moscow for meetings with curator Armen Horlivskyi, another former overseer by Yura Ivanyushchenko, but in Horlivka.

On December 12, early in the morning in Pokrovsk (formerly Krasnoarmiysk) in the Donetsk region, representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine conducted searches in the city hall. Former "Region" Ruslan Trebushkin, whom the SSU accuses of tax evasion and illegal enrichment, responded to this by saying: the SSU is executing the "attack" command given by competitors dreaming of seizing the mayor’s seat. The suspicion of a connection with Serhiy Andriychenko (who also vied for the mayor’s seat in the city) was confirmed thanks to a mistake by employees of his Andriychenko’s website. Journalists acted somewhat prematurely - in the "Life News" style - appearing at the scene a few seconds before the incident became a fact.

Locals who are Ukrainian patriots (who, frankly, represent an oppressed minority in this city) know well who Serhiy Andriychenko and Ruslan Trebushkin are. Both are viewed unfavorably. For the former mayor of Dymytrov, Ruslan Trebushkin, they recall how, in the winter of 2014, this ex-Regional Party member took gifts to the "Berkut" in Kyiv, called the new Kyiv government a "junta," and praised Putin for his "Crimean operation." But in the election process, Trebushkin competed for the head position with other Regional Party members - who were more blunt and greedy. As a result, 80% of the voters’ votes went to him, which has to be reckoned with.

But the losing candidate, now just a city council deputy from his own pocket "Youth Party," Serhiy Andriychenko, does not intend to reconcile. And he is thoroughly testing the scenario in Pokrovsk, rolled out in the satellite city of Rodynske. There was a raider takeover, and now Andriychenko’s sister, who did not participate in the elections at all, commands Rodynske. And it must be said, this sad story strongly resembles the Severodonetsk variant, described here (the head of Rodynske shared the fate of Severodonetsk mayor Kazakov).

Anti-Maidan and thugs in power

In 2014, Andriychenko’s people recruited local sports youth for trips to Kyiv as titushki, offering 300 UAH. During city "DPR" rallies, Andriychenko’s brigade commanders were seen in the crowd, and his car was nearby.

ATO volunteers from former Donetsk residents who supported the Euromaidan recognized the thugs, underlings of the "Krasnoarmiysk authority," among the attackers on Maidan supporters in Donetsk. Together with Armen Horlivskyi’s titushki, these young men in baggy sports pants attacked Donetsk Maidanists on January 22, during the Unity Day. They "enjoyed themselves to their heart’s content" during the bloody riot in Donetsk on March 13, 2014.

A fighter named Borys Ovcharov said regarding this incident to "ORD": "Chikyan is Armen Horlivskyi’s right-hand man. His lackeys burned the flags of opposition parties along with funeral wreaths on Blvd. Shevchenko in Donetsk on January 22."

Before the 2015 mayoral elections, this fighter was among those who warned the Krasnoarmiysk community (future Pokrovsk) that a criminal was vying for power: "When I came to Krasnoarmiysk, I was surprised - I saw people who tried to kill me in Donetsk for the Ukrainian flag, and today they are alongside those aiming for power in your city. On March 13, 2014, during our bloody event in Donetsk, I was on that bus which they attacked, when the Freedom party activist was killed. I was present on Artem Street on April 28 during the battle. Now I see the faces of these titushki in Krasnoarmiysk, and I know exactly that they were organized by Chikyan (Serhiy Andriychenko) - a local criminal authority."

This is how future members of Andriychenko’s "Youth Party" and other "cool guys" marched through the city before attacking a pro-Ukrainian rally in Krasnoarmiysk on April 30, 2014.

It must be noted that only by a miracle did Krasnoarmiysk of 2014 not become part of the "DPR." At any rate, Serhiy Andriychenko and his companions did everything within their team’s power to make it happen. But the plan of Yura Yenakiyevsky’s thugs was thwarted by the "Dnipro" battalion. On May 11, 2014, Chikyan’s "youth" in tracksuits attempted to oppose "Dnipro," which was trying to take control of the State Council building. News spread across the country about the death of two civilians – one was killed immediately, and the other died in the hospital. Defending themselves, Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Guard claimed that their units were not in Krasnoarmiysk. No one seemed to question the audacity: to attack armed people. After all, one of the deceased tried to wrestle a gun from an ATO volunteer, and the bullet he received ricocheted off the asphalt, while the other received an accidental wound – the troops fired into the air and at feet. Had they not fired, Krasnoarmiysk today might have a "DPR." Serhiy Taruta (then chairman of the Donetsk region’s RSA) recalled the tragic incident by saying that "Dnipro" destabilized the situation in the city, but we know well how he managed to "stabilize" it in Donetsk...

Later, when the "Donbas" battalion entered Krasnoarmiysk, volunteers, having information about who Chikyan was, took him to a plantation. The talk was serious, after which Andriychenko began to show concern for Ukrainian servicemen. And in 2015, Andriychenko ran for deputy of Krasnoarmiysk city council and began to advertise in local media as the leader of his own party, created his own website, and began defending his reputation.
A "ORD" source, who wished to remain anonymous, claims that Chikyan occasionally meets with the wanted "general of titushki" Armen Sarkisyan in Moscow. He represents the interests of Yura Yenakiyevsky’s camarilla, who still rules the region through MPs like Oleh Nedava.

Attempt on a union activist and other business crime

In local business circles, it is believed Serhiy Andriychenko rose by stealing mining equipment (transported from state coal mines under the guise of scrap metal). A high-profile case of triple murder of miners at the "Pokrovska" mine was linked by the victims’ relatives to Andriychenko and former mine director Leonid Baysarov.

Andriychenko-Chikyan is well acquainted with embezzlement schemes of Yenakiyevskyi criminal group, and not just at "Pokrovska" but also "Krasnolymanska." Several deputies join the state enterprise, headed by Ivaniushchenko, for whom Chikyan acted as a regular executor.

In March 2016, Trebushkin, reporting on his 100 days, said concerning Krasnoarmiysk: "A lot of things were seized in this city: bus depots, cinemas, parks, and cafes ..." hinting at Andriychenko’s "Oryol Ltd." This company exuberantly "squeezed" (as it’s fashionable to say now) the city park Yubileiny (almost 27 hectares!), with a cinema "Mir" and other objects located in the park - by means of fraud, which you can read more about in the USR.

"Oryol Ltd.", whose sole founder is Andriychenko, used community property for enrichment, mortgaged the park, distorted it, then returned it with nearly a million-dollar debt to the city’s balance. From the cinema, the cunning tenant even took and sold heating pipes as scrap metal.

A similar fate befell ATP 11411, "squeezed" at the turn of the 2000s. Director Olexander Zhatyk (of retiring age) was dislodged by raider takeover. Investigating how Andriychenko came to head Krasnoarmiysk machine-building plant requires separate consideration.

During public actions, Rodynske residents accused activists from Andriychenko’s "Youth Party" of drug trafficking and Andriychenko himself of "covering" "kopanky" mines.

In 2015, SSU even launched an investigation into an unlawful mine owned by Andriychenko, but this case is unlikely to be active today.

And the most shocking aspect of the titushko-businessman’s career is perhaps how he quickly transformed in the spring of 2015, under the "Maidan" government, into... deputy general director of Selydovyvugillya! "Under Yanukovych, he supervised Selydovyvugillya, although the enterprise was formally state-owned and belonged to Yanukovych people," a source from the production told "ORD".

Andriychenko suspected Krasnoarmiysk SUBP head Roman Syrotyuk of an attempt on his life. Quote: "The car that a suspect used for hunting Syrotyuk had the numbers of deputy CEO of Selydovvuhillya – Serhiy Andriychenko, considered here as a ’sentry’."

"Andriychenko was appointed for a particular program of coal bed buying. Installed by Yanukovych. These are the kind of people the current government places publicly in key positions in Donbas," stated in spring 2015 on Shuster LIVE Donetsk Right Sector head Serhiy Chyryna."

Many are still bewildered by how a racketeer and raider could transform into a powerful politician and wealthy entrepreneur, whose companies bid in tenders from "Selydovvuhillya."

However, Chikyan resembles a "window-dressing," behind which true owners are hiding – those temporarily (?) forced to flee to Russia and other foreign states. For whom Andriychenko makes millions in Pokrovsk and also hides them from paying taxes to the state budget.

Modern political alignment and family subcontract

Before the war, he was seen as a Yenakiyevskyi executor, now he’s a great friend of BPP, his wife has become the leader of the Bankova project "Our Land" in Pokrovsk, while Andriychenko spawned several titushko-political projects. One of these is the "Youth Party" (scoring 8% in the Pokrovsk city council), which we already mentioned. To create a sense of choice and diversity locally, Andriychenko created another hybrid party – "Smart Force," where he placed one of his former "Regional Party" companions as "director."

The Andriychenko family subcontract was demonstrated in Rodynske, where a group of "youth" deputies staged sabotage for a year – what will happen to the district if Andriychenko fulfills his ambitions and becomes a full-fledged "district master" (sessions disruptions, scandals, brawls – all instead of work).

Locals don’t support him, but Andriychenko fights for control over current Pokrovsk and surrounding areas, not alone, but as part of a serious team. In it is only BPP MP Oleh Nedava (Yuri Ivanychunenko’s direct representative in the region). Andriychenko is also supported by PR axakals like Leonid Baysarov (this former MP personally voted in the illegal "DPR" referendum) and Anatoliy Shyshko (former policeman and millionaire), whom President Poroshenko suddenly last year appointed head of Krasnoarmiysk district administration. Interestingly, before the appointment, Shyshko repeatedly accused Andriychenko of raiding, and after suddenly became his lobbyist (rumor has it they started a joint coal business parasitizing on the state mine named after Stakhanov in Dymytrov).

The adversarial clan opposing this group originated from the same PR-nursery. Opponents include the current "Resurrector" (Khomutynnik’s faction) MP Yevhen Helter and the mentioned Trebushkin, who actively assisted Helter in overcoming competitors in previous VR elections.

Pokrovsk level: Power and titushki

On March 23, 2016, SSU prevented an assassin attempt on Andriychenko: "SSU operational staff simulated the deputy’s death. After that, the perpetrator’s phone reports to the executor were documented for the "assassination" results. In Dnipropetrovsk region and in Pokrovs over-two simultaneous criminal authorities, the executor and accomplice of the assassination attempt are detained" (official report says this). Unofficially back then, SSU members told journalists that NPP motive was the sharing of control zones among thugs who are spreading wings like in the ’90s. Besides, the "criminal authority" is considered with some stretch a former MVD officer, a former beat reserve who never sat in jail.... Though he was suspected of severe crimes, including murders.

In horror, Chop’s opponents and numerous victims of "people of Caucasian nationality" and "sporting appearance," patronized by Chikyan. It’s said that they broke legs and jaws to run around the streets of military prosecutors complaining.... And not only at the local level with their own people in the SSU, Andriychenko, according to disliked ones. Donetsk of state level Tsaran nevertheless legitimizes the dubious businessman when it becomes an esteemed guest at the tournament of national boxing.

From ORD letter: "In Krasnoarmiysk, there was a candidate for Kraknoarmiysk mayor named Andriychenko, who organized around 250 titushki against 30 participants of the march for a united Ukraine. Organizer of DPR flag hoisting at Krasnoarmiysk city council and the Militia Department on April 16, 2014, his employees went to defend "DNR." His people see and inform about troop movements at local taxi drivers – DRN informers – on city roads. People moving around the region spot he’s widespread everywhere, running Ukrainian soldiers. The former head and captured him in a confrontational probe accusing him of sedition of possessing.

Local resident Dmytro Verzilov, who fought against the "Regional Party" during the Maidan, and recently shifted to the "Resurrection" party and befriended Trebushkin (elected as Solodari deputy) explains his choice between opportunist Trebushkin and "bandit" Chikyan: "Trebushkin carried lard to anti-Maidan, and Andriychenko goes past troops. Trebushkin reformed, but he brings punks running through town hall in tracksuit attempting agreement with officials. Recently one of his deputies from the "Youth Party" was jailed for 8 years for forged excise stickers, dirty vodka trade, and perhaps extortion. I divide all former "Regional Party" members into 2 categories: reformed and sporting trousers. The second one is the essence of Andriychenko and his fellow members."

It’s lamentable to observe notorious Family representatives digging into the current government roots and finding a "roof" in already supposedly "updated" law enforcement agencies. Locals, however, claim the police composition in the city hasn’t significantly changed. It’s enough for Chikyan to provide police with gas and offer SSU employees premises (every taxi driver in the city knows this "secret"). And now he receives an indulgence along with the hope to grow into a local feudal lord. The morose pairings beautifully illustrate a photo taken in Donetsk along Shevchenko Blvd on January 22, 2014 (where, aside from Horlivsky’s people, Chikyan’s representatives were spotted). A local cop-betrayer gently leaned against a band member - Armen Sarkisyan, cyst criminals who came on Ivaniushchenko’s behalf to liquidate Maidan activists.

According to ORD materials.