The schemes for traveling abroad for conscription-age men under the cover of the Ministry of Culture have been exposed

The schemes for traveling abroad for conscription-age men under the cover of the Ministry of Culture have been exposed

People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak shared information about several schemes for men of conscription age to leave the country by posing as cultural figures during the full-scale war. These mechanisms, based on permits from the Ministry of Culture, allow individuals who have no relation to culture or artistic activities to freely cross the border.

This was reported by «Glavcom» with reference to Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

According to the deputy, one of the most common schemes is the use of «fake artists» status. These are cases where individuals leave with permits from the Ministry of Culture, but their activities are far from cultural. 

For instance, in July 2022, after the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, a new «Range Rover» crossed the state border, driven by an acting deputy of the Zhmerynska City Council from the OPFL party, Viktor Zherebnyuk. Border guards allowed him to leave not as a politician or businessman but as a member of the «1+1» team to cover charity matches involving «Dynamo».

According to Zheleznyak’s information, Zherebnyuk left with letters from the Ministry of Culture, where he was listed as a «stage man» – a person responsible for bringing equipment and props on stage. After leaving, he sold his «Range Rover» and acquired properties in Poland, Spain, and Kyiv for a total of €1 million. Clearly, he did not earn this money in the position of a stage man.

Notably, Viktor Zherebnyuk also appeared in a high-profile criminal case besides the border crossing scheme. In August 2023, the State Bureau of Investigation detained his son – the former deputy of Zhmerynska City Council in the Vinnytsia region and namesake, Viktor Zherebnyuk.

According to the investigation, the son of the fugitive deputy allegedly ordered the murder of a Zhmerynska City Council deputy. The reason was a conflict. According to the investigation, the official repeatedly blocked issues important to the deputy’s family related to the allocation of land for construction. These blockages affected both personal and business interests of the family, which apparently became the reason for organizing the crime. Later, Viktor Zherebnyuk followed his father’s example and also fled abroad. 

Last year, State Bureau of Investigation employees informed about suspicions to the management and doctors of the military medical commission who arranged the opportunity for a local deputy accused of a contract killing to leave the country.

According to People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak, there are several schemes in the Ministry of Culture that allow men to leave the country under the guise of cultural figures. One of them is the already mentioned «fake artists» scheme.

Zheleznyak cited other examples:

• Two IT specialists, Ihor Lytsyuk and Volodymyr Shpynta, who develop games for online casinos, left as members of the Kharkiv band «Perekur».
• The head of the TENTE Ukraine branch, engaged in tire sales, Dmytro Pshenychnyi, traveled abroad allegedly to organize a children’s «Eurovision».

Besides this scheme, people were also allowed to leave for events unrelated to culture, for example, three individuals traveled to England for a sound healing event.

There is also a scheme where some individuals are released on vacation under the guise of a business trip. According to Zheleznyak, this scheme was used by «Servant of the People» director Oleksiy Kyryushchenko, Dom/Freedom marathon producer Oleksandr Vashakidze, and «united» telethon curator Vladyslav Matyash. Strangely, their «business trips» often coincided with the New Year holidays.