On July 11, an incident took place in the city of Vinniki, Lviv region, on the territory of a local tobacco factory, which attracted considerable attention of the public and law enforcement agencies. During the investigative actions by the employees of the Economic Security Bureau (BEB), about 50 athletic people together with representatives of the factory physically pushed the law enforcement officers out of the enterprise. This conflict turned into a fight, as a result of which two patrolmen were injured and hospitalized.
This case is reminiscent of the incident in Dnipro, where the bodyguard of People's Deputy Mykola Tyshchenko beat a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war. According to people familiar with the situation at the factory, the attackers belonged to a group associated with Hryhoriy Kozlovsky. The journalistic investigation of RIVNE ONLINE notes that in 2021, the "Vynnykiv tobacco factory" was responsible for the production of 61% of illegal tobacco products on the market of Ukraine.
The investigation also drew attention to the activities of the public organization "Zhyttia", which, according to journalists, is used by manufacturers of counterfeit cigarettes for legislative manipulation and pressure on legal competitors. The official website of the NGO "Zhyttia" does not contain information about this incident, although the event is one of the most resonant in the fight against tobacco smuggling.
Andriy Skipalskyi, known for his criticism of the fight against cigarette smuggling, also did not comment on this incident. The lack of reaction from the main anti-tobacco activists of the country, such as Dmytro Kupyra, executive director of the NGO "Zhyttia", only confirms the suspicions of journalists about the connections between activists and producers of illegal products.
