An investigationby Ukrayinska Pravda found that the driver of the car in which fugitive MP Artem Dmytruk left Kyiv was Volodymyr Mykolayovych Krokhmal, an assistant to MP Suto Mamoyan from the OPFL. According to the newspaper, Krokhmal was driving a Toyota Camry, which took Dmytruk from Kyiv to Odesa region, reports Komersant ukrainskyi
During his interrogation as a witness, Krokhmal explained that he was simply asked to drive a person to a certain point, without specifying details.
UP asked Suto Mamoyan for a comment, and he said that Krokhmal helped Dmytruk with his car because he feared for his life and did not want to use his own transport. Mamoyan also noted that law enforcement officers have not yet approached him about possible assistance to Dmytruk in organising the escape.
Dmytruk was dropped off in Odesa region, after which he got into a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. According to the investigation, Dmytruk’s subsequent escape from the country was organised by persons involved in the illegal trafficking of men across the border.
The investigation has also identified a person who allegedly helped Dmytruk escape from Ukraine. He is a citizen of Ukraine, Aidyn Hashimovich Ulukhanov, born in 1968. Investigators found that Ulukhanov left Ukraine illegally on 25 August and is currently in Transnistria.
An analysis of Ulukhanov’s telephone connections revealed his route on 23 August, which coincides with the date and time when Dmytruk switched from a Toyota Camry to a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. The driver of the Mitsubishi and Ulukhanov have already been served suspicion notices in absentia of illegal border crossing.
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The escape of Artem Dmytruk
As reported , Dmytruk illegally travelled abroad on 24 August. According to media reports, the MP was seen at the police station in the Moldovan town of Stefan Voda. There, in the presence of an investigator, Dmytruk wrote a statement about illegal border crossing, which allows him to obtain refugee status.
The State Bureau of Investigation reported that it had opened a criminalinvestigation into the illegal border crossing by the current MP.
on 2 September, the SBI stated that it had served three people who helped smuggle Dmytruk across the border with suspicion. However, as far as the text and media materials of the SBI and the Prosecutor General’s Office make clear, the suspects do not include employees of the State Border Guard Service. However, as can be seen from the published videos, Dmytruk calmly passed through the SBGS checkpoint on the border with Transnistria, even after going through all the necessary procedures.