Controversial lawmaker Artem Dmytruk has been placed on Ukraine's wanted list, and the State Bureau of Investigation has launched an international search for him, it announced on Aug. 29.
The bureau previously confirmed on Aug. 26 that Dmytruk illegally crossed the border from Ukraine's Odesa Oblast to Moldova.
Under martial law, Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60, with some exceptions, are not allowed to leave the country as they may be called up for military service.
Lawmakers can travel abroad if permitted by the head of the parliament, but Dmytruk had no such permission.
Dmytruk fled the country on Aug. 24, the day before Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin charged the lawmaker with assaulting a soldier and a law enforcement officer in separate altercations.
"The (bureau) announced an international search for the suspect, who is a current member of the parliament, due to attacks on citizens," it said in a statement on Aug. 29. The bureau did not name Dmytruk but included a photo of him.
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The Prosecutor General's Office also did not directly name Dmytruk, but sources within law enforcement agencies confirmed to Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda that the suspect was Dmytruk.
Dmytruk did cross the border illegally, Tetiana Sapian, the bureau's communications advisor, said on national television. According to Ukrainska Pravda, the lawmaker did not officially pass a Ukrainian border crossing point.
Authorities are investigating several people, including border control officials, suspected of aiding Dmytruk in illegal crossing.
Dmytruk, who was elected to the parliament as a representative of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People party but was later kicked out of it, was involved in two separate altercations with authorities.
While in Odesa, Dmytruk, along with accomplices, allegedly caused minor bodily harm to an on-duty law enforcement officer during an argument. He also allegedly attempted to steal the officer's weapon.
In another incident in Kyiv, Dmytruk allegedly got into an altercation with a soldier, hitting him on the head several times and causing moderate bodily harm.
Sapian also confirmed that the investigation against Dmytruk had been ongoing for a long time, but the charges against the lawmaker were awaiting the prosecutor general's signature.
There are no grounds to strip Dmytruk of his parliamentary mandate as of now, Serhii Yevtushok, deputy head of the parliamentary committee on parliamentary ethics, said on national television.
The grounds may include a court verdict, which is not yet available in Dmytruk's case, deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship if a person has dual citizenship, death, or resignation, Yevtushok added.
If the court verdict is issued, "the parliament will strip this lawmaker of his powers," Yevtushok said.
In a post on Telegram on Aug. 24, prior to fleeing the country, Dmytruk acknowledged that law enforcement officials conducted a search of the lawmaker's hotel room in Kyiv, as well as his apartment in Odesa.
Dmytruk, without evidence, claimed that the search was politically motivated, as a result of his previously pro-Russian political views, as well as support for the Kremlin-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP).
First elected as an independent lawmaker representing Odesa in 2019, Dmytruk later joined and was subsequently expelled from the Servant of the People parliamentary group.
While serving in parliament, Dmytruk took a number of pro-Russian stances on various issues. A staunch supporter of the Moscow-backed church, Dmytruk purportedly posted bail for a priest of the church suspected of collaboration with Russia.
Law enforcement officials told Ukrainska Pravda that Dmytruk fled Ukraine through Moldova and took a flight to Rome the same day.
The Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify these claims.
Nate Ostiller
(Updated: )
