Zhebrivskyi + Remskyi. PR and feasting during the war

The new Donetsk mafia gets rid of those who do not participate in shady schemes and provides a social elevator for Yanukovych’s servants

1. Fire-hazardous stoves, non-burning booklets, and a 50% kickback

On March 17, in the frontline town of Krasnohorivka, people protested, demanding the return of the head of the military-civilian administration, Oleh Livanchuk, who was dismissively fired by the Donetsk governor. Livanchuk was informed via email that he was dismissed "due to systematic failure to perform official duties." Protesters believe his resignation is a step toward surrendering the Ukrainian-controlled city to the enemy. They are outraged: Ukrainian patriots are being destroyed, while those who called for the "Russian world" are nurtured and pampered (like the head of the education department of the district administration, Lyudmyla Zaytseva).

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In the photo – portraits with hashtags: #BRING_BACK_PETROVYCH, #SAVE_LIVANCHUK, #LIVANCHUK_WE_ARE_WITH_YOU and ‪#‎REMOVING_PATRIOTS‬ – activists from Donetsk region are spreading these in social networks.

"A decent man. He wasn’t afraid of dirt, genuinely dealt with people’s problems, fought for order. He chased away soldiers when they misbehaved, cracked down on separatists. I have only positive impressions of him. Simple, without airs, and a hard worker," says volunteer Serhiy Kosyak about him, who evacuated thousands of people from Donetsk.

In 2015, when the President appointed Oleh Livanchuk, a volunteer from the ATO special forces unit "Sumy," to save Krasnohorivka, the city was barely surviving without electricity, heat, and water. Every second house was destroyed. There was a shortage of bread. The head of the military administration literally lived in his office, but in several aspects, he managed to make life in the town better than it was in peacetime.

For example, water – before the war, it was supplied for only 2 hours in the morning and evening. "Ukrainian soldiers, under shelling, dragged 210 meters of pipe from the ’red zone,’" says the already dismissed head. "The water we have is technical, but it still reaches the 5th floor, and we deliver drinking water."

Meanwhile, Pavlo Zhebrivskyi is criticized by Krasnohorivka residents for his cult of personality and empty promises. "Just a little longer, and there will be gas in Krasnohorivka," he has been saying for the third year, this lover of ribbon-cutting. But he "builds a gas pipeline" only in words. The hospital, damaged by shelling in May last year, was supposed to be repaired by winter according to Zhebrivskyi, but winter has passed, and nothing has changed.

In the photo – Instead of the promised gas and coal, the head of the Donetsk Regional Military-Civilian Administration "heats" Krasnohorivka with waste paper, in which he praises his achievements at state expense. Locals complain: the booklets burn poorly.

The head of the region became angry with Livanchuk for "airing dirty laundry" regarding the stove heaters. Zhebrivskyi’s subordinates "warmed their hands" on these stoves: without a tender, 1.188 million UAH was spent to purchase junk for Krasnohorivka residents. The stoves did not meet the quality specified in the contract, lacked a cooking surface, and were simply dangerous to use. As a result, the supplier was charged with fraud and document forgery, and one of Zhebrivskyi’s team members was charged with negligence.

MP Olha Chevakova published photos of these disastrous stoves and sharply criticized such "charity." This provoked the wrath of the Donetsk governor.

In the photo – fire-hazardous stoves delivered to Krasnohorivka instead of proper heating. One such monstrosity cost the budget over 4,000 UAH and turned out to be unusable.

The fact is that, apart from the unusable stoves, in 3 years, Pavlo Zhebrivskyi has not helped Krasnohorivka with a single penny, although money flows into the region like a full river.

"An inspector comes and asks: ’Where is your HR department?’ What department – I have one inspector sitting in a freezing office for 3,500 UAH. There are no people willing to handle such a workload in these conditions," the dismissed head sincerely resents. "With the governor’s capabilities, we could have ensured that the State compensates for our budget losses. Do as you please. Now we need to buy 2 new licensed programs for computers, one costs 8,000 UAH – significant money for our budget. But we manage somehow – as long as they don’t interfere. Thanks to international funds, which see that there’s no theft here, we’ve restored schools and done quite decent repairs. And local people, you know, see very well – where the truth is, where the lies are. People have become very sensitive during the war. You can’t deceive them like Pavlo Ivanovych does."

In the photo – Residents of Krasnohorivka write in comments to the news about the dismissal of the head of the MCA that the city is becoming pro-Ukrainian thanks to Livanchuk.

But an approach like Livanchuk’s is akin to spitting in the governor’s soul. Our sources in the regional leadership report: a major carve-up is expected in Krasnohorivka, and the head of the regional administration is eager to place a reliable person in charge of the flow.

Here are just a few projects where one can "skim off": construction of a clinic, construction of a flagship school, a new water pipeline… At least 45 million UAH is planned for the school. They want to lay 18 km of pipe all the way from Karlivka – while savings could be made by building a filtration station (as Livanchuk proposed). Gas installation is planned for 150 million UAH. Eleven projects for the restoration of apartment buildings are in the works. And in every topic, a… 50% "kickback" looms.

This opinion is confirmed by the recent exposure of Olena Holovkina, the first deputy head of the Bakhmut District State Administration. She received 410,000 UAH in cash from a businessman – half of the total cost of the design and estimate documentation for the construction of a "Transparent Social Office." And, according to the detained, the money was supposed to go "up."

No one in the district doubts that Holovkina acted on the instructions of the head of the Bakhmut District Administration, Volodymyr Bohonov. He is listed as a witness in the case, worked in the Organized Crime Department before the war, and is a protégé of Zhebrivskyi’s deputy – Viktor Remskyi (another ex-Organized Crime Department officer).

2. How a logistics center, overseen by the governor, bzaecame a business for the leaders of the "republic"

Next in line for dismissal is the head of the military-civilian administration of the settlement of Zaitseve, Volodymyr Veselkin. Also an ATO volunteer (fought in the "Artemivsk" battalion), a pro-Ukrainian activist, and a displaced person from Horlivka, where terrorists "seized" his bakery. Zaitseve is located in a zone of constant shelling, and the mood of the locals largely depends on the leadership.

"We have a unique situation," Veselkin says about his life and work. "The center of Zaitseve is still occupied by militants, while Bakhmutka, Zhovanka, Pisky-2 (villages) have been liberated and annexed. Four liberated streets of Horlivka city have also joined Zaitseve. Since the summer of 2016, we had no electricity for 13 months. Until I proposed a solution. Water pipeline breaks weren’t repaired for six months. Although the communal enterprise ’Water of Donbas,’ which operates in occupied Makiivka, Donetsk, and Horlivka, is subordinate to Zhebrivskyi, they have water there, but we didn’t. I managed to transfer the water networks running through the settlement from Horlivka to the balance of Chasiv Yar (controlled territory)."

Veselkin made enemies on February 24 – after exposing a legalized smuggling scheme of goods through the humanitarian-logistics center near checkpoint "Maiorske":

In the photo – Veselkin’s Facebook post, after which the regional MCA unleashed inspections on him. "It’s a closed club, only ’insiders’ profit on both sides, and customs duties are paid to the budget of the so-called ’DNR,’" he wrote about the trade in the logistics center.

These centers were intended to allow people from uncontrolled territories to buy Ukrainian goods at reasonable prices, but in reality, they serve as transshipment bases where only scheme participants do business.

Using the example of butter purchased by the hypermarket "Mist," controlled by the "republic" leader Zakharchenko, Veselkin documented the entire scheme: the route, car numbers, participants. And, apparently, he hit the mark, as the reaction from the regional MCA was threats.

See Volodymyr Veselkin’s video "Collaboration with ’DPR.’ Logistics center as a smuggling base":

"Every day, 15 to 30 tons of cargo enter the logistics center territory in the same vehicles. The same people transport it in small batches to the militants’ checkpoint, where a ’DPR’ truck awaits," Veselkin comments on the scheme he filmed. "Butter from Ukraine arrives in monoliths – in 20-kg boxes, by trucks of 7-8 tons. Then ’shuttles,’ pretending to be ordinary buyers, take the goods away in minivans over 5-10 trips. 100 meters from the militants’ checkpoint, the butter is picked up by a truck with the license plate ’253 DPR.’ This is the real client who pays taxes to the militants’ cash register. At the Holmovskyi turn in Horlivka, there is a so-called ’DPR customs.’ And, what’s even more upsetting, the land and building of the logistics center belong to the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs with the designated purpose of ’defense lands.’ This bazaar enriches the bandits of the ’republic’ while my friend from Horlivka fights on the Svitlodarsk Bulge."

In the photo – ’DPR’ leader Oleksandr Zakharchenko opens the supermarket ’Mist’ on the premises of the ’Metro’ store, which was seized from its owners and looted. For Zhebrivskyi, the bandit-’Oplot’ member seems not an enemy but a business partner.

According to Volodymyr Veselkin, the Ukrainian side earns 10 UAH per kilogram from such trade with militants. The State Border Guard Service provides a green corridor. The customer sells the already packaged butter in Donetsk at a price 1.5 times higher, not only profiting but also supporting the economy of the "republic."

The director of the "Maiorske" logistics center is Artem Skrypchenko. Like Pavlo Zhebrivskyi, he is a former prosecutor. And the son-in-law of… guess who? Anatoliy Mohylyov. The very same traitor from Yanukovych’s gang who helped the Russians steal Crimea from us.

This is how raw materials are supplied not only to Zakharchenko’s stolen "Metro" (now "Mist"). Minced meat arrives in large batches to the seized enterprise "Kolbiko," and cheese mass to the allegedly seized "Hercules."

In the photo — The son-in-law of the traitor Mohylyov is an important link in the chain of smugglers. He gives comments to the program "Donbas Realities," whose journalists reached the same conclusions as Veselkin:

Earlier, Veselkin drew attention to another corruption scheme at the "Maiorske" checkpoint: the privileges Zhebrivskyi creates for large private carriers – companies belonging to the son of Blyznyuk and the son of the Bakhmut mayor, Reva.

A short route, minimal fuel costs, high passenger flow – all this allows significant profits from transportation. To force people crossing the contact line to use the services of "approved carriers," they are subjected to real harassment (more details here ).

In the photo – Volodymyr Veselkin explains how the regional MCA lobbies large carriers and pressures small ones: "The more middle class we have, the closer we are to Europe."

"No competitions, no contracts. Monopoly, inflated prices. They pack 90 people into buses. You can cross from occupied territory on foot. My mother-in-law went to visit relatives in Horlivka, and my wife met her in a car 150 meters from the checkpoint. As soon as she stepped onto controlled territory, a border guard told her: ’Get on the bus!’ She said: ’My daughter is waiting for me there.’ The border guard: ’Get on the bus, I said!’ All to ensure customers for their carrier," Veselkin recounts.

The scandal erupted after law enforcement installed a barrier blocking access to the checkpoint, forcing carriers to drop off passengers almost 2 kilometers away from the checkpoint (at other checkpoints, drop-off points are up to 7 km away). Previously, they could drive up to 150 meters from the checkpoint and park for free at a designated area for passenger drop-off, but at some point, citizens began to be pressured to create preferences for Artemivsk ATP (owned by Dmytro Reva – son of Bakhmut mayor Oleksiy Reva) and Kramatorsk ATP (owned by Serhiy Blyznyuk – son of the former Minister of Housing and Communal Services, ex-governor of Donetsk region). To prevent small carriers from earning, slag was even dumped on their routes.

In the photo — "We see the same schemes we fought against under Yanukovych, expose them, and get hit for it," Veselkin explains his conflicts with the leadership of the regional military-civilian administration.

3. Remskyi and the "regionals": Hnatenko, Blyznyuk, Trebushkin, Panasyuk – here’s your "Renewed Donetsk Region"

Pressure on those who do not make deals, like Livanchuk and Veselkin, was and continues to be exerted directly by the "walking wallet of the governor" Viktor Remskyi. Livanchuk, for example, was "advised" three times to leave "amicably."

"Remskyi called me and said: ’The Guarantor met with Zhebrivskyi, they decided to dismiss you.’ I couldn’t even talk to Pavlo Ivanovych himself; he hasn’t picked up the phone when I call for a long time. Even when there’s a dangerous situation," says Livanchuk.

According to his duties, Mr. Remskyi should handle the issues that Veselkin and Livanchuk deal with: in the Donetsk Regional MCA, he is responsible for construction, restoration of destroyed facilities, industrial development, transport, roads, etc. But instead, he focuses on managing cash flows.

Before the war, Remskyi worked as deputy head of the Organized Crime Department and amassed wealth in the form of two Volkswagen cars from 2013 worth a total of 730,000 UAH and two Kyiv apartments – 57 sq.m. and 160 sq.m., the latter in an elite residential complex. How could a couple with a combined income of 78,000 UAH in 2013 afford this? In the next available declaration – for 2015 – Remskyi appears as an MCA employee with an annual income of 148,800 UAH.

For 2016, as Zhebrivskyi’s deputy, he declared an increase in salary to 423,000 UAH (per year) and unexplained savings of 20,000 USD + 270,000 UAH in cash…

In the photo – The "gray cardinal" of the Donetsk Regional Military-Civilian Administration, Viktor Remskyi. Salary for December 2017 – almost 150,000 UAH. But expenses continue to exceed official income.

As we previously wrote, Viktor Remskyi was linked in the past to the notorious head of Kyiv’s Organized Crime Department, Oleksandr Pluzhnyk, whom he even "outdid" in some respects. He was involved in the Pavlychenko case (during Remskyi’s first interrogation, they "confessed"). And – in a scandalous case with a large batch of drugs.

Military-civilian administrations in Donbas have become a goldmine for officials from the Party of Regions clique. With the staggering sums that Donbas absorbs today like a black hole, every war-destroyed house could have been repaired, and dormitories for IDPs could have been built… But for officials, it’s more pleasant to steal 1.5 billion UAH on seminars for IDPs.

Last year was especially successful for lovers of public funds: 3 billion UAH entered the treasury accounts of the Donetsk region. Budget funds intended for the restoration of war-destroyed infrastructure were decided to be spent on flagship schools, which were divided among contractors linked to the same ex-associates of Yanukovych (more details here ).

So that no one doubts that a bureaucrat’s job in Donbas today is a goldmine, here’s a fresh example: six apartments in Kyiv were purchased in October 2016 by the wife of Andriy Ruban, head of the Investment Department of the Slovyansk City Council – also a Slovyansk official working in the social insurance fund.

"Renewing and restoring Donbas" using the schemes by which the country was robbed by the "predecessors," Zhebrivskyi is assisted by separatists whom he has made the backbone of his apparatus (more details here). At the same time, without a pang of conscience, he