Schools, church and propaganda: ex-deputy of Kherson regional council received suspicion from SBU

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has served a new suspicion of collaboration to Igor Brzezycki, a businessman and former deputy of the Kherson Regional Council. During the temporary occupation of Kakhovka, he held a senior position in the occupation administration and contributed to the promotion of pro-Russian propaganda.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations with reference to the suspicion of the Prosecutor General's Office.

According to the suspicion materials, Brzezycki became the deputy head of the so-called Kakhovka administration in 2023. In the structure of the occupation authorities, he was responsible for culture, education, tourism, youth policy, social protection, as well as information and ideological work.

Investigators found that in this position, he established cooperation with the Russian authorities and funds controlled by them to transfer educational institutions of the Kakhovka community to Russian educational standards. According to the SBU, Brzezycki paid special attention to involving representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in spreading pro-Russian narratives among the local population.

The text of the suspicion states that he systematically organized propaganda activities in the interests of the aggressor state, using religious and humanitarian events as a tool to influence civilians.

The former official is charged with part five of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - collaboration. The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of five to ten years with possible confiscation of property.

This is the second suspicion served on the former MP. In 2024, law enforcement officers served him with a notice of suspicion on the fact of cooperation with the occupation authorities in the field of education - the investigation found that he was acting as the head of the occupation education department in Kakhovka.

In 2022, he was involved in the seizure and looting of the city's social services center of the Kakhovka City Council after Russian control of the city was established.

According to the Chesno movement, Ihor Brzezycki was previously a deputy of the Kherson Regional Council from the Party of Regions. At the time of his election, he served as chairman of the board of the Kakhovka Experimental Mechanical Plant, which he later headed as a private company.

He was also for a long time the head of the diocesan department for family issues of the Novokakhovka diocese of the UOC-MP. According to the Center for Investigative Journalism, he was known in Kakhovka as an open supporter of the "Russian world." He did not hide his pro-Russian views and publicly stated that he considered the Patriarch of Moscow to be his spiritual mentor.

In addition, his close relatives also sided with the occupiers. We are talking about his wife Svitlana Brzezycka, the head of the Lepta charity foundation, and his son Dmytro Brzezycki, who collaborated with the occupation administration.

Last year, Vardan Alaverdyan was also notified of suspicion. According to the investigation, he is suspected of assisting the Russian occupiers: he works in the occupation administration of Kakhovka and participated in the processes of the so-called "nationalization" of property. The SBU notified him in absentia of suspicion of aiding the aggressor state.

In addition, Alaverdyan played a key role in a corrupt scheme to raise funds for the occupiers' pseudo-charity fund Lepta. He extorted money from local entrepreneurs, threatening to confiscate their businesses, and the funds collected ended up in the pockets of Gauleiter Filipchuk and the Brzezycki family.

Анна Бальчінос