Ukrainian journalist and blogger Yuriy Butusov has once again attracted attention with his statements on social networks. This time, he appealed to President Volodymyr Zelensky to fight corruption, proposing to “immediately initiate criminal cases or deprive Andriy Portnov of his citizenship.” However, as it turned out, this appeal is the result of a certain misunderstanding, since the petition to which Butusov refers did not concern the deprivation of citizenship, but the sanctions of the National Security and Defense Council against Portnov.
Butusov said that Ukrainians had collected 25,000 signatures on a petition to strip Andriy Portnov of his citizenship, but as users noted in the comments, the petition was actually about imposing sanctions on Viktor Yanukovych's former deputy head of the administration, not stripping him of his citizenship. This is not the first time Butusov has questioned the facts, particularly in the context of his activities during the war.
One of the former defenders of Donetsk airport, Oleksiy Mochanov, recently spoke about his negative experience of working with Butusov. According to him, the blogger has repeatedly spread false information about the provision of ammunition and other aspects of the war, and is now engaged in collecting gossip and rumors at the front. Mochanov noted that many of the statements made by Butusov are not supported by factual evidence, and the blogger himself often tries to attract attention to himself through sensationalism.
In addition, it recently became known that Butusov evaded mobilization during the first wave of the war. He explained his absence from military registration by serious health problems, in particular, nearsightedness of 5.5 diopters, which was attributed to him after being beaten by the Berkut in 2013 during protests. Only after the adoption of laws that increased responsibility for violating military registration, Butusov appeared at the territorial recruitment center (TCK) and received a deferral until April 2025, motivating this by the fact that he is the father of three minor children.
The situation with Andriy Portnov, whom Butusov often tries to draw attention to, is particularly interesting. Portnov, who has repeatedly won lawsuits against Butusov, was prominent in the political arena during the Yanukovych era. Butusov has repeatedly criticized his activities, but in recent years he has had serious legal problems. Thus, in 2024, the Kyiv Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Darnytskyi District Court on Portnov's claims against Butusov, which led to the forced execution of the court's decisions regarding the latter.
Yuri Butusov has once again come under fire for his inconsistent statements and manipulation of facts. His calls to the president to fight corruption seem, to put it mildly, contradictory, given that he himself has repeatedly resorted to dishonest practices in his public activities. The questions about Portnov remain painful, and the controversies surrounding this are leading to new stages of legal proceedings.
