Latest news with #OleksiyChernyshov
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Ukraine Anti-Graft Investigator Detained Over Russia Links
Ukraine's law enforcement officials arrested an anti-corruption investigator and raided several others on suspicion they were working with Russia. The head of a local office of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau in the eastern city of Dnipro was detained as part of the sweep carried out without court orders, the bureau known as NABU said in a post on Telegram. The man identified as Ruslan Magamedrasulov was assisting his father in selling industrial hemp to Russia, Ukraine's security services and the prosecutor general's office said in a statement, adding that they were investigating whether he also traded secret information with Russia's special services. NABU said it was studying the situation and would provide details later. The raid is likely to throw a spotlight on Ukraine's commitment to root out corruption, which Kyiv has been trying to address since pro-European protests in 2014. NABU was set up at the demand of Ukraine's donors a decade ago to investigate graft among top officials. Its work has been praised and supported by Kyiv's allies, but the bureau has faced attempts to weaken its position. In June NABU named former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov a suspect in a corruption probe, making him the highest-level official in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government to be subject to a graft investigation. Chernyshov denied any wrongdoing. This month, Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation accused Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a civil society organization, of evading military service, raising concerns of possible political revenge. The raid came as Russia unleashed a renewed attack on Ukraine, targeting the country's central and western regions with drones and missiles as Kyiv's allies pledged increased air defenses to help shield the war-ravaged nation.
Mint
23-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Ensnared in Corruption Probe
(Bloomberg) -- A Ukrainian deputy prime minister said he's cooperating with authorities after the nation's anti-graft watchdogs announced that a senior official is a suspect in a corruption investigation. Oleksiy Chernyshov, who denied any wrongdoing, said he had a 'constructive' exchange with investigators from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, on Monday for more than two hours, according to a Facebook post. He's prepared for 'full cooperation' and is reviewing related documents, Chernyshov said. The deputy premier would be the highest-level official in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government to be part of a corruption probe. NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office earlier issued a so-called notice of suspicion against an unnamed deputy prime minister who previously served as the country's minister for communities, the bureau said in a statement on its website. Chernyshov, who returned to Ukraine on Sunday from a weeklong trip to meet European officials, matched the description. The probe concerns an alleged scheme to obtain land well below market prices in order to build a residential complex, NABU said. Those who facilitated it received discounted apartments, the agency said. NABU said the minister received an 'unlawful benefit' through a purchase discounted by more than 14.5 million hryvnia ($346,000). The broader scheme may have cost the state more than 1 billion hryvnia in losses, prosecutors said earlier. Prosecutors have launched criminal cases against other state officials and developers over the deal. Following his stint in the development ministry, Chernyshov was appointed chief executive officer of Ukraine's largest state-run energy company, Naftogaz, in 2022. Last year he returned to the cabinet — and is currently responsible for policy aimed at bringing Ukrainian refugees back home. He also lobbied for a recent law change enabling Ukrainians to hold multiple citizenships. More stories like this are available on
Bloomberg
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Ensnared in Corruption Probe
A Ukrainian deputy prime minister said he's cooperating with authorities after the nation's anti-graft watchdogs announced that a senior official is a suspect in a corruption investigation. Oleksiy Chernyshov, who denied any wrongdoing, said he had a 'constructive' exchange with investigators from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, on Monday for more than two hours, according to a Facebook post. He's prepared for 'full cooperation' and is reviewing related documents, Chernyshov said.
Newsweek
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Ukraine Changes Law on Dual Citizenship
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday passed legislation allowing its citizens to hold multiple citizenships. The legislation comes as the country grapples with a severe demographic crisis, exacerbated by the ongoing war with Russia, which has forced millions of Ukrainians to flee abroad. Why It Matters The reform would allow the millions of Ukrainians around the world who have been displaced by Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of the country in 2022 to hold on to their Ukrainian passports should they seek other citizenship. What To Know Ukraine's population has been shrinking since the collapse of the Soviet Union, when it stood at around 50 million. By 2021, the figure had dropped to approximately 40 million. Today, the government estimates the population has fallen further to about 32 million, with a diaspora of roughly 25 million, according to Reuters. Now in its its fourth year, the war has driven more than 5 million Ukrainians to Europe and claimed tens of thousands of lives. Ukraine's Ministry of National Unity said in a statement that multiple citizenship was "a strategic step to preserve the unity of the Ukrainian nation in the face of war, global mobility, and a large diaspora." It was developed "as a response to demographic and security challenges, as well as the need to restore and maintain ties with millions of Ukrainians abroad," added the statement. Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukraine's minister for unity, said he hoped the legislation would restore the country's ties with members of the global Ukrainian diaspora. His ministry said 90 percent of Ukrainians abroad were in countries where multiple citizenship is allowed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced the bill to parliament last August. Special provisions will streamline processes for children born abroad to Ukrainian parents and for Ukrainians who acquire a second nationality through marriage. Foreigners who wish to become Ukrainian citizens must pass a test on the country's language, history, and constitution. However, citizenship will be denied to nationals of countries considered hostile to Ukraine or that do not recognize its territorial integrity. The legislation also paves the way for foreign nationals who have fought alongside Ukrainian forces to be granted citizenship more easily. What People Are Saying Oleksiy Chernyshov, minister for unity, said in a post on Facebook on Wednesday: "This decision is an important step to maintain and restore ties with millions of Ukrainians around the world." Ukrainian Natalya Kostyk-Ustenko, who fled Ukraine's Kherson in June 2022 to live in Lithuania with her two children, told Reuters: "Since the situation in Ukraine is unstable, people... do not know whether to return or not." "Our roots are Ukrainian, we love our country, we support it as best we can. This (move on citizenship) is significant support for us as refugees, we are all scattered around the world." What Happens Next The Ukrainian government will come up with a list of countries whose citizens are eligible for dual citizenship with Ukraine.
Yomiuri Shimbun
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Ukraine Allows Multiple Citizenship as War Drags on
Reuters Ukrainian national flag flies at half-mast near the Ukrainian Motherland Monument after Tuesday's deadly Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 18, 2025. KYIV, June 18 (Reuters) – Ukrainians will be able to hold dual or multiple citzenship under a law approved by the parliament on Wednesday that aims to ease a demographic crisis exacerbated by the four-year war with Russia and to improve ties with the country's large diaspora. Previously, Ukrainian law did not recognise dual or multiple citizenship, meaning that ethnic Ukrainians living outside the country and holding other passports had to renounce their other citizenship if they wanted a Ukrainian passport. Government officials estimate Ukraine's diaspora at some 25 million people. They put the current population in Ukraine at 32 million, down sharply from 52 million in 1991 when Ukraine became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union. 'This decision is an important step to maintain and restore ties with millions of Ukrainians around the world,' Oleksiy Chernyshov, minister for unity, said in a social media post on Facebook after Wednesday's vote. The issue of multiple citizenship has become even more pressing since Russia's invasion in February 2022, exacerbating a demographic decline that had started years before. Ukraine saw several large labour migrations in the early 1990s. With the start of the invasion, millions of Ukrainians fled the fighting. With the war now in its fourth year, data shows that more than 5 million Ukrainians live in Europe, while tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict. 'Since the situation in Ukraine is unstable, people… do not know whether to return or not…,' said Natalya Kostyk-Ustenko, who fled Kherson in southern Ukraine in June 2022 and lives in Lithuania with her two children. 'Our roots are Ukrainian, we love our country, we support it as best we can. This (move on citizenship) is significant support for us as refugees, we are all scattered around the world,' she told Reuters. Lawmakers said the new law would simplify procedures for children born to Ukrainian parents abroad and also for Ukrainians who obtain other citizenship by marriage. It will also make it easier to obtain Ukrainian citizenship for foreigners fighting for Ukraine on the frontlines. The law does not directly ban Russian citizens from obtaining Ukrainian passports but says the government will be able to implement restrictions related to the armed aggression against Ukraine. Foreigners would have to pass a test to prove their knowledge of the Ukrainian language, history and constitution.
