News Feed

Poltava mayor charged with divulging positions of Ukrainian troops.

1 min read

The Security Service of Ukraine on Dec. 29 charged Poltava Mayor Oleksandr Mamai with illegally divulging the positions of Ukrainian troops during martial law.

Mamai has a controversial background and is known for his pro-Russian views. He was a member of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych's pro-Kremlin Party of Regions in 2012-2014.

In 2021 he said that the Russians and Ukrainians were "brotherly nations", while the war in the Donbas was a conflict between the U.S. and Russia.

Mamai has also been involved in corruption scandals.

In 2015, Larysa Golnyk, Ukraine's most famous whistleblower judge, published video footage featuring Mamai pressuring her to close a corruption case against him. Mamai, who denied the accusations, has been investigated for pressuring Golnyk but has not faced official charges.

Golnyk also published footage of Mamai's deputy Dmytro Trykhna unsuccessfully trying to bribe her in exchange for closing the case against Mamai. In January Trykhna was given a 2-year suspended sentence for offering the bribe.

In 2018 the city council stripped Mamai of his status of mayor amid the corruption scandals around him. However, he was re-elected as mayor in 2020.

Avatar
The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Read more
News Feed
Video

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, war has become a daily reality for thousands of Ukrainian children. Some Ukrainian military units, such as the Azov Brigade, offer boot camps for teenagers to teach them the basics of self-defense, first aid, dry firing, and other survival skills — helping them prepare for both the realities of today and the uncertainties of the future.

Show More