Foreign trips and fake bookings: How Kyiv City Councillor Andrusyshyn is avoiding conscription

Foreign trips and fake bookings: How Kyiv City Councillor Andrusyshyn is avoiding conscription

Kyiv City Council deputy from "European Solidarity" Volodymyr Andrusyshyn is one of a dozen capital elected officials who regularly travel abroad during the full-scale war. While show business representatives organize concerts in the EU and raise funds to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andrusyshyn, who considers himself part of show business, opened his own company in Poland. At the same time, nothing is known about his donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Andrusyshyn is a well-known entrepreneur in the show business sphere who deals with stage lighting. After the start of the full-scale war, he "skipped" Kyiv City Council sessions while being abroad. He publicly stated that employees mobilized in his company were resigning so as not to be a burden on him. And he himself unexpectedly got a job at the State Enterprise "Ukrvaktsyna" during the war, although his specialty has no connection to the activities of this enterprise. According to his declaration, he was employed there at least until 2025, but is currently not registered there.

OBOZ.UA tells about Kyiv City Council deputy Volodymyr Andrusyshyn.

Why Andrusyshyn is not threatened by mobilization

Volodymyr Andrusyshyn, according to media data, has repeatedly traveled abroad. He was not in Ukraine even in the first months after the start of the full-scale war. And in his latest declaration, the man indicated that he has the right of permanent residence in Poland – UKRPESEL (temporary protection for Ukrainians who arrived after February 24, 2022).

After the invasion of Russian occupiers, the deputy, as established by cultureversus analysts, did not appear in the Kyiv City Council for months. He missed the first session after the start of the full-scale war on March 13, 2022, as well as the next three. Andrusyshyn came to work only on June 9.

It seems that in the first months of the full-scale war, the Kyiv deputy decided that he was needed more by European officials than by his voters in the capital. "We traveled about 6,000 kilometers to knock with yellow-blue flashlights on every window of the European official who doubted granting Ukraine EU candidate status!" – Andrusyshyn reported in June 2022.

Now the elected official spends most of his time in Kyiv and attends Kyiv City Council sessions. Although information about his Polish company "Alight Production Group" in the open register indicates that he lives in Poland. By the way, he created this company at the end of 2024, during the full-scale war, together with partner Kyrylo Lobasyev.

Andrusyshyn is a lighting specialist. He earns money from large-scale events: concerts, big shows, festivals. Last year, together with his wife, they declared more than 14.3 million UAH in income from entrepreneurial activity. The deputy also declared income from the "Kyiv University of Culture."

And if a lighting master with many years of experience has something to teach students at the university of culture, it is difficult to explain his work at the State Enterprise "Ukrvaktsyna" of the Ministry of Health. The 47-year-old man got a part-time job there in 2023 and continued to declare this place of work, including in the latest declaration for 2025. The deputy allegedly had a reservation from the State Enterprise of the ministry for at least some time.

By the way, Andrusyshyn’s godfather Denys Herasymovych has connections in the Ministry of Health. Herasymovych is the owner of LLC "Screen Production." This company, among other things, is engaged in supporting theatrical and concert events (installing screens). So the men are connected to each other, including through work in the same industry. By the way, Herasymovych’s company has increased its income several times during the years of the full-scale war. From 3.3 million UAH in 2021 to 10.3 million UAH in 2025 (YouControl data).

On the one hand, the lighting master earns money from mass events, and on the other, he holds the position of secretary of the Kyiv City Council commission on culture, tourism, and public communications. In 2023, at a commission meeting, he made a strange statement during the consideration of the dismissal of a mobilized artist.

Thus, the Kyiv National Operetta did not renew the contract with People’s Artist Ihor Levenets, who at that time was defending the country as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This situation became the subject of the commission’s consideration. Andrusyshyn saw no problem in such a decision by the theater management.

Moreover, he stated that eight men were mobilized in his company, and all of them were dismissed because it "relieves the burden on the company."

"If my personal business also belongs to culture, then I can say that eight former employees of the ’Medialight’ company are also serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and have also written resignation letters... because of some conflict. Well, first of all, they relieve the burden on my company regarding tax payments. Secondly, they receive a salary there. I don’t fully understand what we are discussing now," Andrusyshyn stated.

By the way, the court later recognized the dismissal of the People’s Artist as illegal. So there was still something to discuss. The problem is that Andrusyshyn did not understand this. He considers the dismissal of mobilized employees as "relieving the burden." The deputy himself is not threatened by mobilization.

The deputy did not travel abroad alone

According to media information, Andrusyshyn participated in organizing the departure of military conscripts abroad. He allegedly helped a number of men leave the country under the guise of a business trip to work in the EU, but 14 people did not return. They were supposed to arrive by June 25, 2022, but are still abroad.

Criminal proceedings have been registered on this fact under Article 366 and Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provide for liability for official forgery and illegal transportation of persons across the state border or organizing such transportation. It was not possible to officially confirm this information, so we contacted the deputy for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication. Therefore, we are publicly appealing to the deputy with a request to clarify this information.

Volodymyr Andrusyshyn, it seems, does not want to pay taxes not only for mobilized employees. His company "Medialight" has been earning money for years, including from state tenders. For example, in 2021, the LLC received about 20 million UAH. Most of it – from the State Enterprise "Multimedia Platform of Ukraine’s Foreign Broadcasting."

The company’s total income in 2021 amounted to 64.4 million UAH, and net profit – only 845 thousand UAH (YouControl data). Currently, a number of court cases are pending in the Kyiv Economic Court, through which one can understand the reason for such low profitability of the company.

"Medialight" transferred millions of hryvnias to individual entrepreneurs for equipment rental (some of these contracts are being attempted to be recognized as invalid). The money was transferred, in particular, to the deputy himself as individual entrepreneur Andrusyshyn Volodymyr Yosypovych and his wife – as individual entrepreneur Andrusyshyna Liudmyla Mykolaivna. Funds were also withdrawn to individual entrepreneur Kyrylo Lobasyev (who is now the deputy’s partner in the Polish company). Judging by the court cases, at least 9.8 million UAH was withdrawn to individual entrepreneur Lobasiev.

Such operations often occur to minimize profit in order not to pay tax. Instead, the money is simply withdrawn to individual entrepreneurs.

Now the deputy continues to earn money from lighting. On social media, he calls himself the "Father of Light." And judging by the declared profit, he is successful.

We also appeal to the State Enterprise "Ukrvaktsyna" with a request to explain what function the lighting master performs in the enterprise and whether he was included in the list of reserved employees. In addition, we also appeal to the "Kyiv University of Culture" with a request to explain what functions the "European Solidarity" deputy Andrusyshyn performs and how he manages to combine business, regular trips abroad, deputy work, and work at the university.