Ukrainian MP Artyom Dmitruk has claimed from exile that he is a victim of political persecution due to his support for the largest Christian church in the country. Kiev has accused him of violent crimes and illegally crossing the country’s border.
Last week, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky signed a bill into law which threatens to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), over allegations that it may be controlled by Moscow. Dmitruk stood out among his fellow lawmakers for his vocal opposition to the legislation. He is now considered a fugitive in Ukraine and says his family is in danger.
”They tried to abduct my family. They tried to kidnap my mother, wife and two small kids from a hotel in Europe,” the MP claimed on his Telegram channel on Monday. Dmitruk said private security had thwarted the plot and that he knows who was behind it.
Last week, Ukrainian authorities announced criminal charges against an unnamed MP. He was accused of assaulting two people – a law enforcement officer and a military service member. Separately, they announced a criminal investigation into alleged illegal crossing of the border by the same person. Dmitruk is understood to be the suspect, according to Ukrainian media.
The lawmaker is a professional powerlifter and entrepreneur who runs fitness clubs in the city of Odessa. He went into politics in 2019 on the wave of Zelensky’s surprise presidential campaign, getting elected as an MP for his Servant of the People party.
Dmitruk dismissed the allegations against him as fabricated for political reasons. One of the charges is apparently related to a conflict he had last year with what he called a scam call center.
The politician claims that Zelensky’s office is after him over his support of the UOC. The church has been subjected to law enforcement raids on its monasteries, arrests of senior bishops and the seizure of property by supporters of the rival Kiev-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Last week, armed men showed up at various properties associated with Dmitruk and his family, he told his attorney Robert Amsterdam, who voiced his client’s criticism of Kiev’s infringement of religious freedoms.
Dmitruk has alleged that his foes intended to have him killed while supposedly resisting arrest. His current whereabouts are unclear, with Tatryana Sapyan, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian investigative agency DBR, claiming on Sunday that he had fled the country via Moldova.