He talked about the return of refugees, but he himself disappeared in Europe: what is known about Minister Chernyshov’s business trip against the backdrop of the high-profile NABU case
Ukrainians have long been accustomed to the fact that news regularly appears in the information space about scandals related to the actions of government officials – both corrupt and related to unethical behavior, conflicts of interest, abuse of office or sudden trips abroad without explanation. Some of these stories quickly disappear from view, some turn into criminal proceedings, others raise questions to which the authorities do not give a clear answer.
The situation with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov is one of these. The minister responsible for the policy of returning Ukrainian citizens from abroad, who was a central figure at forums devoted to the return of citizens and voiced the importance of the reintegration policy, left the country himself and has not returned for more than a week. Formally – due to a “planned business trip”, in fact – against the background of a criminal case in which persons from his closest circle are under suspicion. At the same time, no concrete answer to the question of his return has been given yet.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov went abroad on June 11. He started his trip in the Czech Republic, then stayed in Vienna, where he met with the director general of the Federal Agency for Reception and Support – the refugee coordinator, as well as with representatives of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the public initiative Train of Hope.
On June 16, he arrived in Austria on an official visit. The very next day, June 17, when the forum “Human capital dimension at the URC 2025. Focusing on Return and Recovery” organized under the auspices of his ministry took place in Kyiv, Chernyshov joined the event remotely – in the format of video inclusion.
On June 19, he announced on his Facebook page about a series of meetings within the framework of his visit to the European Union, in particular with representatives of the Council of Europe and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Mezzola. According to the minister himself, the conversation with Metzola took place in Brussels.
However, despite his long-term activity abroad, Chernyshov still has not returned to Ukraine. IN comments the minister’s press service reported to “Ukrainian Pravda” that the business trip continues “as usual” and is “a normal part of the work of the deputy prime minister.” At the same time, the length of stay, return plans and other clarifications are not provided in the answer.
“The business trip takes place as usual. Please note that such business trips are a regular part of the work of the Deputy Prime Minister.
We would like to remind you that the course of working meetings of the Deputy Prime Minister, in particular during foreign business trips, is covered on the official Facebook page of Oleksiy Chernyshov and on the official resources of the Ministry of National Unity. – the minister’s press service reported.
At the same time, inquiries about when the minister will return to Ukraine remained without a concrete answer.
The mass media reported that on June 13, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported on a large-scale corruption scheme in the construction sector, which, according to the investigation, could lead to state losses of over 1 billion hryvnias. Five people were suspected. Two of them — former State Secretary of the Ministry of Regions Vasyl Volodin and ex-adviser of the minister Maksym Gorbatyuk — are directly related to Chernyshov, who headed the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development before the transition to the government of national unity.
On June 18, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure for Volodin — detention for two months with an alternative bail of 20 million hryvnias. According to the UP, about a month ago law enforcement officers conducted searches in Chernyshov.
Oleksiy Chernyshov is one of those government officials who publicly declared the priority of returning Ukrainian refugees home. Under his leadership, the department presented several initiatives aimed at facilitating the reintegration of citizens who left the country due to the war. However, in a situation where the minister responsible for national unity finds himself abroad during an active anti-corruption investigation around his own entourage, doubts logically arise. Whether this is really an ordinary business trip or rather a way to avoid responsibility in Ukraine is a question to which there is no direct answer yet.
