Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma, in a short period of acquaintance with Volodymyr Zelensky, was able to become his confidant and lock himself in a number of issues that determine the economic policy of the state. At the same time, Shurma's background is closely connected with Rinat Akhmetov, who retained influence over his ex-manager.
Rostyslav Shurma has been in Volodymyr Zelensky's team relatively recently - since November 2021. Until now, Shurma had worked for Rinat Akhmetov's structures for 13 years. It was during that period that the foundation of the family business of Rostyslav and his brother Oleg was laid, and in the SBU certificate for Shurma the characteristic : "shadow mayor of Zaporizhia from Akhmetov."
It is worth noting that, as a manager at one of Rinat Leonidovich’s factories, Shurma also worked on the oligarch’s political projects, even managing to become a deputy of the regional council from the Party of Regions. Having political influence in the Zaporizhia region, Rostyslav Shurma became involved in a large number of corruption scandals: from “budget cuts” to illegal land allocation in Zaporizhia, which was reported the local press.
But corruption scandals do not surprise Ukrainians. For example, the high-profile investigation by Bihus.Info , in which journalists found evidence of illegal enrichment of Rostyslav and Oleg Shurm, who received funds from the budget “at the green tariff” for the operation of solar power plants at the TOT of the Zaporizhia region, ended in nothing in legal terms. As NV journalists report , the judge of the Pechersk court, Svitlana Shaputko, who is associated with Oleg Tatarov, closed the case “on a conflict of interest”.
In turn, our publication's journalists were interested in facts from Rostislav Shurma's biography, which, according to our sources, were documented by Rinat Akhmetov's security service and help the richest Ukrainian, through his ex-manager, influence economic processes in the country. In particular, the energy sector, which is close to Rinat Leonidovich.
These facts are not only related to Rostyslav Shurma's corruption schemes, but also intersect with cases of treason, which could put an end to Rostyslav Igorovych's brilliant career. In this regard, two Zaporizhzhia cases are interesting: Oleg Kizimenko and Vyacheslav Boguslaev, accused of treason.
As our publication learned, the companies of traitor Oleg Kizimenko, in agreement with Rostyslav Shurma, won tenders in Zaporizhia worth tens of millions . We remind you that, according to the investigation, Kizimenko participated in the creation of the occupation bodies of Sevastopol, voluntarily transferred official information with confidential and personal data to Russia, and also personally organized the parade of military equipment of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on May 9, 2014. At the court hearing, the accused fully admitted his guilt.
The second interesting similar case is the cooperation between Rostislav Shurma and who was accused of treason . This case is interesting primarily because Shurma and Boguslaev had joint “business projects”, including those with a corruption component . We remind you that Renat Leonidovich’s security service carefully recorded all the “dark deeds” of his TOP manager Rostislav Shurma.
As our sources in Rinat Akhmetov's entourage note, one of the reasons for Shurma's dismissal from the oligarch's structures was information from the oligarch's Security Service about systemic theft by Shurma at factories, in particular the "element scheme". As we can see, Rinat Leonidovich has accumulated a lot of interesting information about the ex-manager over the past 13 years, which could appear in the press at any moment.
According to our publication, Rostyslav Shurma still has an influence on the political and economic processes taking place in Zaporizhia. For example, Shurma supervises the activities of the head of the military administration of the Zaporizhia region, Ivan Fedorov, and recently, together with Rinat Akhmetov's business partner, the sanctioned Vadim Novinsky, the acting mayor of Zaporizhia Anatoly Kurtyev was replaced by Regina Kharchenko. What is significant in this situation is that Shurma continues to work in the interests of Akhmetov's structures.
It is also worth noting that Rinat Akhmetov, despite the war or other circumstances, has continued to finance Muslim communities for many years, both in Ukraine and in Russia. Almost unnoticed, news about the construction of mosques by Akhmetov rarely appeared on regional websites. The most famous of them is the White Mosque in Bolgar (Kazan, Russian Federation) and the mosque in Donetsk, which was built back in 2012. The latest information is at the level of rumors about Rinat Leonidovich allocating funds for the construction of a mosque in Kyiv. Given the dynamics of Islamization in Ukraine, Renat Leonidovich will be able to maintain his political influence under any government.
Regarding the influence on economic processes in Ukraine, it is no secret that the current Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in the past the ex-manager of Rinat Akhmetov, is today his creature in the Cabinet. Replacing Denys Shmyhal with the new “favorite of Zelensky” Rostyslav Shurma will not change the balance of power, and will provide Akhmetov with access to managing the economy.
In an interview with the American publication The Washington Post, Rinat Akhmetov said that he earned his first capital by playing cards: “I understood this: cards are tactics and strategy, an analytical mindset, a practical approach and the ability to win.” According to the oligarch, for about 20 years he played the “fake fool.” No one knows when and under what circumstances Rinat Akhmetov will get his main trump card – compromising information on Rostislav Shurma, and under what circumstances he will be ready to “say goodbye” to him.
