Fugitive Odesa MP Dmytruk is to be excluded from one of the Verkhovna Rada committees

The Verkhovna Rada has registered a new resolution to exclude fugitive MPs from the Rada's committees.

According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the MPs propose to exclude Andriy Odarchenko, who fled because of the NABU corruption investigation, from the Anti-Corruption Committee. And Artem Dmytruk, who fled after beating a law enforcement officer, from the Law Enforcement Committee.

According to Ukrayinska Pravda, on October 7, Dmytruk, who had illegally left the country in late August, joined a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement online. Dmytruk's participation in the committee meeting was confirmed by committee member Oleksandr Bakumov (Servant of the People parliamentary faction):

"I can confirm the fact that Dmytruk participated in the committee meeting (via videoconference) and voted," he said.

According to Bakumov, Dmytruk voted in favor of the last draft law on the committee's agenda, No. 9398 "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine on Improving Criminal Liability for Infectious Diseases or Infection with Their Pathogens."

At the same time, Yulia Yatsyk, a member of the committee and a non-partisan MP, emphasized to UP that she did not personally record Dmytruk, but her colleagues from the committee confirmed that he participated in the meeting. She clarified that the meeting was attended by representatives of various law enforcement agencies, including the PGO, NABU, and SAPO, as they discussed the conclusion of agreements in criminal proceedings and amendments to the Criminal Code in connection with the ratification of the Rome Statute.

The news of MP Artem Dmytruk 's escape from Ukraine became known on August 24, when he crossed the border with Moldova. Previously, the MP had actively supported pro-Russian interests, in particular, he had defended the Moscow Patriarchate. On August 25, he was notified of being suspected of assaulting a police officer and a soldier.

In July 2024, he became a subdeacon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP).

In November last year, Artem Dmytruk joined those who wanted to preserve the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine. In October 2023, Artem Dmytruk was accused of beating a man in the capital.

In November 2021, Dmytruk was expelled from the Servant of the People faction.

Олеся Ланцман