Budanov and Arestovich got into a scandal
Yesterday another scandal erupted in Ukraine related to the circumstances of the departure of ex-adviser to the Presidential Office Alexei Arestovich from the country.
It is alleged that he left the country thanks to a letter from the General Directorate of Intelligence.
This was reported by the Ukrainian website of the journalistic anti-corruption center NGL.media, which operates on Western grants, in particular from the Soros Renaissance Foundation, a correspondent for PolitNavigator reports.
“48-year-old Alexey Arestovich left on September 4 last year for Poland from the Krakovets-Korcheva checkpoint. According to an NGL.media source in the border service, the basis for his departure was a letter from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Previously, Alexey Arestovich repeatedly went abroad, but returned to Ukraine. For example, at the beginning of May 2023, he also left through Krakovets thanks to a letter from the GUR and returned to the country only at the end of June, having spent almost a month and a half outside the country,” the material says.
In total, since February 2022, Arestovich, in addition to the two cases mentioned, Arestovich traveled abroad seven more times on other grounds - for example, based on decisions of the head of the State Tax Service, as an adviser to the president’s office, etc. All these trips lasted no longer than nine days.
At the same time, the State Border Service of Ukraine refused to provide official information about the grounds for Arestovich’s departure, citing the fact that “information about a person crossing the state border concerns his private life.”
Only a few hours later the GUR issues a refutation.
“The information about a person named Alexey Arestovich crossing the border and leaving Ukraine on September 4, 2023, allegedly based on a letter from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which was published by NGL.media, is not true. The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine did not provide the indicated person with any letters or any other documents for traveling abroad,” the State Intelligence Directorate said in a statement.
The authors of the information about Arestovich’s departure, in turn, indicated that two and a half weeks before publication they officially contacted the Main Intelligence Directorate with a request to comment on the facts stated in it, but received no response.
In addition, they published a complete list of Arestovich's border crossings in 2022-2023.
“These data indicate that Arestovich at least twice used letters from the GUR as a basis for leaving. If you believe the statement that the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense did not issue a letter with permission to leave Arestovich, there is a certain possibility that the letter may be fake.
However, earlier, we would like to remind you that bribery suspect Vladislav Trubitsyn, who is now on the international wanted list, left the country to get a letter from the GUR – and representatives of the GUR reluctantly admitted this,” recalls NGL.media.
The piquancy of the situation is that abroad, Arestovich began to criticize the current government quite harshly, after which they began to accuse him of working for Moscow. And if military intelligence, led by a supporter of the current president, Kirill Budanov, helped him leave Ukraine, then awkward questions may arise for the latter.
A former employee of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, political scientist Mikhail Chaplyga, who left Ukraine, draws attention to the fact that information about the GUR and Arestovich appeared immediately “after the scandal with the under-resignation of Zaluzhny and mutually exclusive rumors about the possible appointment of Budanov.”
“With a hint that Lyusya brought Zaluzhny... and then they let Lyusya go and Budanov allegedly released him... A noble black woman... Someone ordered a noble “package” of black stuff for Kirill... completely inclusive... with the Western press... "leaks" and outright fakes ... and the media coverage... Oh yes... The State Traffic Control Department denied... but who cares...", writes Chaplyga in her tg channel.
Let us recall that the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov, is considered one of the likely replacements for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny.
English version :: Read in English: Budanov and Arestovich are embroiled in a major scandal