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March 5, 2026, 12:48 p.m.
Ukraine denied extradition of fugitive pro-Russian MP
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PHOTO: Artem Dmytruk/instagram
Artem Dmytruk won his extradition case in the Westminster Magistrates' Court. On March 4, 2026, the British court rejected the Ukrainian authorities' request for his extradition.
This was reported by the law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP, which represents the politician.
The judge referred to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, noting that extradition could disproportionately violate the MP's right to respect for private and family life. The arguments also mentioned the defense's allegations of ill-treatment by the Security Service of Ukraine in 2022.
According to the lawyers, Dmytruk's persecution is related to his support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The politician opposed legislative initiatives that provide for the possibility of banning the activities of this religious organization.
In particular, in August 2024, Dmytruk spoke in parliament against Bill No. 3894, which creates a legal basis for a complete ban on the UOC. After that, according to the defense, Ukrainian prosecutors resumed the old charges against him.
According to the lawyers, after losing his security and receiving threats, the politician left Ukraine, crossing the border with Moldova on foot, and later arrived in the UK, where he sought protection.
Robert Amsterdam, founder of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, called the court's decision a "decisive victory."
At the same time, the Ukrainian side has 14 days to announce a possible appeal.
Earlier, Intent wrote how the fugitive Orthodox MP Artem Dmytruk, who was put on the international wanted list, joined the new organization"People's Unity Club" in Russia, in the presidium of which the fugitive Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov sits.
Artem Dmytruk is a Member of Parliament of the IX convocation (since 2019), elected in constituency 133 (Odesa region). He is also an entrepreneur and professional athlete who ran the professional boxing federation of Odesa and the region. However, in November 2021, Artem Dmytruk was expelled from the Servant of the People faction.
In November 2023, Artem Dmytruk joined those who wanted to preserve the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, and in July 2024 he became a subdeacon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP).
Prior to that, in October 2023, Artem Dmytruk was accused of beating a man in the capital, and on August 25, 2024, he was charged with assaulting a police officer and a soldier. On August 24 of the same year, it became known that he had crossed the border with Moldova. Detectives found out that the deputy left Kyiv around one in the afternoon in the direction of Odesa. The car was driven by another person.
Through the analysis of video from CCTV cameras on the Kyiv-Odesa highway, interrogation of the driver and development of a number of operational versions, it was established that the MP got out of the car on the highway near one of the settlements of Rozdilnyanskyi district of Odesa region. The Bureau served suspicion notices to three participants in the illegal transportation of persons across the state border under Part 2 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Two were served in absentia, one was detained, and the issue of choosing a measure of restraint is being decided.
In October 2024, Bihus.Info reported that Artem Dmytruk, a fugitive MP from Odesa who had illegally left Ukraine, had settled with his family in London. He settled in the elite Vista Chelsea Bridge residential complex, where the rent for an apartment is about $6,500 per month.
