People's deputy from the "Servant of the People" faction Oleksandr Kunytskyi found himself at the epicenter of the scandal because of his foreign trips. In the past few months, he left Ukraine on a business trip, but has not yet returned, causing outrage in society and questions about the discipline of elected officials.
On September 23, Kunitsky went on a business trip to the USA, allegedly with the aim of "deepening inter-parliamentary cooperation". According to information from the electronic system of the Verkhovna Rada, the business trip was supposed to end on September 28, but as of December, the deputy has not returned.
The last time Kunytskyi appeared at the meetings of the parliament was in mid-September, and he joined the work of the committee on law enforcement only in October - and then remotely. The apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada tried to contact the deputy, but to no avail.
This is not the first time that Kunytskyi's foreign trips cause a stir. In July 2023, he received permission for a five-day business trip to Israel, but returned after only three weeks. Then the journalists of "Scheme" found out that the deputy even "lit up" in Florida.
Because of this situation, the State Bureau of Investigation opened criminal proceedings on the facts of official forgery and the use of forged documents. However, no restrictions were set for the deputy, which allowed him to travel abroad for the second time without hindrance.
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk explained that only a court decision can limit the activities of a deputy. The apparatus of the parliament emphasized that the expenses for Kunytskyi's trip to the USA were not covered by the state budget.
Oleksandr Kornienko, the first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, called the situation unpleasant, noting that this is not the first such case among deputies.
According to "Ukrainian Pravda", Kunytskyi said that he will not return to Ukraine until the police officers who, according to him, broke his ribs in March 2022, are punished. Also, the deputy allegedly expressed his readiness to draft a mandate.
Meanwhile, updates regularly appear on Kunytsky's Facebook page, in particular, regarding his long-standing conflict with the police.
