Suspicion, business trips, and "rumors": how Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshov avoids responsibility under the cover of the Cabinet of Ministers

Suspicion, business trips, and "rumors": how Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshov avoids responsibility under the cover of the Cabinet of Ministers

It is evident that the goal and purpose of law enforcement agencies is not only to punish but also to prevent, that is, to avert undesirable consequences. 

Mykhailo Tkach writes about this for UP.

That is why the Chernyshov case is important for all those who promised to eliminate cronyism in government before the elections and forgot why it was important after the elections. 

A year ago, the President’s Office was aware and understood that charging Chernyshov was only a matter of time, but they still appointed him as Vice Prime Minister and even created a new ministry. Therefore, all this trouble with the "return and persuasion" could have been avoided. However, they could and wanted to, so they took this controversial step, appointed him, and created a problem for themselves. 

What surprises me in this whole story is not so much the audacity of the figure involved, but the fact that he succeeds in many of his attempts to delay the inevitable. It’s not just a coincidence. 

Vice Prime Minister for National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov was on a four-day business trip but went into hiding for two weeks from suspicion by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).  

When, after significant publicity, the Minister was returned to the country, he continued to pretend that the text in which journalists detailed the case with prosecutors’ quotes did not exist, the suspicion did not exist, and even said: "We will dissect the discrediting campaign fact by fact". 

Here is NABU’s response to our inquiry: 

"According to information provided by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the mentioned individual was on a foreign trip to the Czech Republic and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (via the Republic of Poland and the Kingdom of Belgium) from June 10 to June 14, 2025 (including travel time)."

NABU further confirms what the media reported last week. Oleksiy Chernyshov decided not to return to the country after his associates received suspicions, deciding to wait. He made this decision on the same day law enforcement "suspected" his former subordinates, on June 13. 

"At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine informed that on June 13, 2025 (already after suspicions were handed out to five individuals in the specified proceedings), the Ministry requested the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to approve a foreign business trip for the individual from June 15 to June 21, 2025 (including travel time) to the Republic of Austria, the French Republic, and the Republic of Poland."

According to our sources in political and law enforcement circles, even intelligence was involved in the "return" of the Minister. 

The next day, after arriving in Ukraine, based on sources from the media in law enforcement agencies, Chernyshov asked not to deliver the suspicion at 9 a.m. so that he could attend the Cabinet meeting, take a photo, and continue pretending that everything was normal. 

"🇺🇦 The week began with a government meeting," Chernyshov writes on his Facebook page. 

Then the Minister went to NABU and published a post: "There were many rumors about possible procedural actions against me, so I personally went to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine to sort out the situation."

Rumors? 

In response to our inquiry, NABU informs: "Notifications about the summoning of the individual on June 18, 19, and 20, 2025, for procedural actions were sent to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on June 16 and 19, 2025, using the electronic document workflow system. 

Additionally, on June 19, 2025, a notification was sent to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine about summoning the individual on June 23, 2025, for delivering the suspicion." 

And even 8 days after the official summons to NABU, the Vice Prime Minister says "rumors".

Furthermore, Chernyshov ignores the scheduled meeting of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) today. He says he asked for a postponement because he needed to attend a government meeting. 

Below we publish the agenda of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine meeting. Where here is there even a single issue concerning Chernyshov? Correct. There is none. Chernyshov is not a speaker on any issue during the meeting. Scroll through. 

That is, Chernyshov initially let the President down by inventing meetings to avoid returning to Ukraine. And the President was forced to personally comment on the Vice Prime Minister’s return. Now he is letting down both the government and the President by not resigning voluntarily.

Moreover, he continues to use his position to obstruct the administration of justice. The position held by a person accused of abuse of office and receiving undue benefits in particularly large amounts, which, according to the investigation, could have caused the state damages of 1 billion hryvnias. And this is the first year of full-scale invasion. 

However, the explanation for all this may lie in a simple fact. Chernyshov’s wife, Chernyshova Svitlana Oleksandrivna, was born on 03.12.1975. 

"Resolution" of the Verkhovna Rada on the appointment of Chernyshov O.M. as Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of National Unity of Ukraine according to  paragraph 12 of part one of Article 85 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine resolves: Appoint OLEKSIY CHERNYSHOV as Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of National Unity of Ukraine. December 3, 2024.

Thus, Oleksiy Chernyshov was appointed on his wife’s birthday. Just a coincidence. On who is friends with whom, the media wrote in the text "The President’s Circle".

That Chernyshov is perhaps the first top official not subject to preventive detention, and whether this is somehow related to the "bargaining" over his return, there is no need to say.

Won’t he run away?