Recently, a heated discussion broke out online about Volodymyr Lokotko, the husband of the famous Ukrainian presenter Olga Freimut, after information about his Russian citizenship emerged. Freimut commented for the first time on these accusations and the situation with the sanctions imposed on her husband.
In a comment for the publication TabloID, Olga Freimut confirmed that her husband, Volodymyr Lokotko, did indeed have a Russian passport. She explained that in 2006 Lokotko became a resident of Ukraine after moving from Russia. The presenter also noted that in 2018, Lokotko was personally sanctioned by Russia as a top manager of the Ukrainian media industry, but these sanctions were lifted in 2019.
“My husband was indeed a Russian citizen. It so happened that he was born in Kazakhstan, studied in Russia, and then moved to Ukraine. Since 2006, he has lived, worked, and is a resident of Ukraine. Moreover, he has personal sanctions from Russia since 2018 as a top manager of the Ukrainian media industry,” Freimut said.
According to the presenter, Volodymyr is now a citizen of Kazakhstan. Olga Freimut reported that the man had applied for a Ukrainian passport before the full-scale invasion began, but the process was delayed due to the war. Freimut emphasized that Ukraine did not impose sanctions against Lokotko, since he is a resident of Ukraine.
“We know that during the war, Ukraine takes away housing from Russians, but my Volodya is a resident of Ukraine. By law, Ukraine does not impose sanctions against residents of Ukraine. Now Volodya is a citizen of Kazakhstan. We need to live in Ukraine somehow. Of course, Volodya received a Kazakh passport. He applied for Ukrainian citizenship before the war started, but the war started. And so far we are waiting for a decision,” the host explained.
Previously, Olga Freimut said that she had become a victim of fraudsters. The presenter was left without an apartment in the center of Kyiv, which she purchased many years ago, but the developer stopped construction and is not returning the money. Freimut recorded a video appeal to the company that was engaged in construction and its owner, Andriy Vavrish.
Vavrish, in turn, noted that his client is not Freimut, but her husband. He also stated that Lokotko is a citizen of the Russian Federation, which caused active discussions on the network and a negative reaction to the presenter. The owner of the company reproached Freimut for allegedly trying to get funds without living in Ukraine, and assured that construction had not stopped.
