Ukrainska Pravda investigation reveals that some of people liable for military service who left Ukraine through government-run system have never come back

A range of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charitable foundations, including an NGO founded by a lawmaker from the Servant of the People party and the foundation run by the former deputy head of Volyn Oblast Administration, have included several thousand men liable for military service in the Shliakh (Path) system over the two years of full-scale war, some of whom have never come back home [Shliakh system allows male drivers or volunteers to legally cross the border under martial law – ed.].

Source: Ukrainska Pravda (UP) investigation: "Path" of a servant of the people. Ukrainska Pravda obtained a list of those who have fled Ukraine

Quote from journalist Mykhailo Tkach: "The editorial office has a list of individuals liable for military service who left the country in 2023 with the assistance of Volyn Oblast Administration through the Shliakh system. That's almost 900 people in just one oblast during the second year of the full-scale war.

This information reveals not only the number of people who fled but also who exactly left the country. But the most interesting thing in this whole story is which charitable foundations and NGOs helped them do this."

Details: Foundations and organisations that assisted men liable for military service in leaving the country include Dobra Sprava (Good Deed), Podykh Myloserdia (Breath of Mercy), Razom u Maibutne (Together to the Future), Virymo v Ukrainu (We Believe in Ukraine), Vidchui Teplo (Feel the Warmth), Velyke Sertse Ukrainy (Great Heart of Ukraine), Nezlamnist i Vidvaga (Unbreakable and Courageous), Sertsia Patriotiv (Patriots' Hearts), Promin Nadii (Ray of Hope), and the foundation with the telling name Povernus Dodomu (Come Back Home), which helped some people not to come home last year.

Volyn Youth Active is one of the organisations that registered over 1,000 people liable for military service into the Shliakh system throughout the year. One of its founders, according to YouControl, a Ukrainian online analytical system for business analytics, competitive intelligence and counterparty verification, is Valerii Sterniichuk, a member of parliament from the Servant of the People party.

The other two founders of the organisation are MP Sterniichuk's volunteer assistants: Andrii Lev, Deputy Head and Administrator of Lutsk District Council, and Andrii Kostenko, a member of Lutsk City Council, also from the Servant of the People party.

UP's sources in law enforcement reported that Volyn Youth Active entered MP Sterniichuk's assistants and even the lawmaker himself into the Shliakh system three times.

With the help of sources in law enforcement, Ukrainska Pravda was able to confirm that at least 18 people liable for military service left Ukraine in 2023 through the Volyn Youth Active and never came back. The youngest of them is 25, and the oldest is 47.

According to UP's sources in law enforcement, individuals liable for military service also fled abroad with the help of this NGO, which is affiliated with the Servant of the People, in 2022.

Sterniichuk claimed in a comment to UP that he had not been involved in this organisation for a long time – even before he was elected to the parliament – and he had no idea why this data was not reflected in YouControl.

The lawmaker also claimed that when a public outcry erupted over the NGO at the beginning of last year, he supposedly "verbally addressed the Security Service of Ukraine to deal with the situation around this organisation, where he was once an organiser", and that investigative actions have been ongoing since then.

Quote from Sterniichuk: "If someone is involved in any wrongdoing or unlawful actions, I will definitely make sure that this case proceeds to its conclusion. I know that the investigation is ongoing. I can make inquiries (about how many people did not come back - ed.), as I do this occasionally, but they tell me what they are allowed to."

More details: The second high-profile Volyn story involving officials and individuals liable for military service is unfolding right now.

This concerns Yurii Hupalo, who was appointed deputy chairman of Volyn Oblast Military Administration shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion began and who also runs a charitable foundation called Virymo v Ukrainu (We Believe in Ukraine).

According to Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement agencies, Virymo v Ukrainu brought more than 1,500 men into the Shliakh system over the course of two years of full-scale war.

According to the same sources, on January 10 of this year, deputy chairman of Volyn Oblast State Administration Hupalo and several close associates (including the head of Hupalo's charity fund, Shvalikovskyi) were searched.

According to available information, Hupalo, along with his accomplices from Kyiv Oblast, could have organised a scheme for the illegal transfer abroad of military-aged individuals with significant wealth by placing them into the Shliakh system.

In such a scheme, Hupalo could be tasked with lobbying and resolving the issue of issuing the corresponding package of documents through Volyn Oblast Military Administration bodies.

The cost of escape was around US$7,000 per person.

According to law enforcement sources, Hupalo resigned from his position on 12 January of this year. However, there has been no public information about arrests or other investigative actions for nearly two weeks.

Ukrainska Pravda's editors were able to conduct research on the individuals placed in the Shliakh system by the Hupalo Foundation. The Volyn charity fund has helped many well-known Kyiv residents leave the country on multiple occasions.

For example, Yevhen Metsher, the former head of the state bank, who attacked the Skhemy film crew with his subordinates two years ago.

According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, the Volyn Foundation Virymo v Ukrainu has placed Metsher’s name in the Shliakh system five times in 2022.

Dynamo Kyiv football players use the fund to travel abroad, including Oleksandr Shovkovskyi, the son of former Yanukovych Minister of Health Raisa Bohatyrova, the son of the famous Party of Regions politician Valentyn Landyk, IT specialists, cooks, businessmen, former customs officers, prosecutors, and judges. And even producer Serhii Perman, a former assistant to Andrii Yermak, the Head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office. His name was added to the Shliakh system three times, twice in 2022 and once in 2023, through the Virymo v Ukrainu foundation, registered in Lutsk.

The volunteer brothers Vatsak Stanislav and Vatsak Vladyslav, sons of MP Hennadii Vatsak, born in 2002 and 1995, deserve special attention. According to the Shliakh volunteer system, they left the country in Bentley and Lamborghini vehicles.

Recently, Ukrsainska Pravda discovered that deputy Vatsak purchased a Rolls Royce in 2023 for approximately US$600,000, making it one of the most expensive cars to enter the governmental quarter in Ukraine. 

Journalists attempted to obtain Yurii Hupalo's comments, but he did not return calls or messages.

Quote from journalist Mykhailo Tkach: "We do not have the opportunity to look through the relevant databases for nearly 900 fugitives from the list provided by our editorial office. At least for now.

However, oblast military administrations and law enforcement agencies have the opportunity, and they should be interested in identifying all fugitives and publishing this socially important information."

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