The common-law husband of Radio Svoboda journalist Natalia Sedletska, Serhiy Yakob, has found himself at the center of a scandal over military service evasion. As it became known from a journalistic investigation, Yakob has been wanted since 2022 by the decision of the Mukachevo District Territorial Center for Recruiting and Social Support (TCS), as he failed to appear for a summons.
Serhiy Yakob was born in Mukachevo (Transcarpathian region) in June 1987. He is a specialist in information technology by education, and also worked as an individual entrepreneur, providing consultations in the field of IT and computer systems. In addition, he was the founder of the music magazine "Hip Me Mag".
According to the information, until 2024, Jacob did not appear at the CCC, despite the fact that the law obliged him to register for the draft. During this time, he lived in Kyiv, in one of the most expensive residential complexes in the capital - "New York Concept House", where he and Sedletskaya lived at 74 Antonovycha Street. However, their official income does not correspond to the cost of the purchased housing.
In July 2024, after the new law came into force, which provides for criminal liability for evading military service, Yakob registered with the CCC, but only remotely, without physically appearing at the branch. His registration was carried out in the Fastiv District CCC of the Kyiv region. This fact raises serious questions, because according to the law, such registration should have taken place in person.
After that, Jacob received a deferment from military service, taking a teaching position at the Kyiv College of Trade and Economics, even though he had no specialized education or scientific qualifications. Experts believe that this employment was fictitious, designed to obtain a deferment from military service.
It turned out that at some point, Serhiy Yakob was hiding in the village of Korzhi, Brovary district, Kyiv region, where he lived in a private house registered to Natalia Sedletska’s sister, Iryna. This opens up new questions about why Yakob avoided military service and what was behind his actions.
This scandal has become part of a broader problem that has already been called "shabuning." This term arose after it became known that many activists of anti-corruption NGOs who openly advocate for reforms and the fight against corruption are actually evading their civic duties, in particular, military service. Successful examples of such individuals are Orest Rudy, the husband of the head of the "Anti-Corruption Center" Daria Kaleniuk, and Vitaliy Shabunin himself. This leads to a significant loss of trust in NGOs that promote reforms but do not adhere to basic norms and laws themselves.
