Anonymous accounts on Telegram linked to Ukrainian and American phone numbers belonging to David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, posted comments about his alleged influence over appointments. These included the election of Mykolaiv native Vsevolod Knyazev as head of the Supreme Court and changes in the leadership of Ukroboronprom. Journalists uncovered the posts in public chats and published an investigation on October 28.
This is reported in an investigation by Slidstvo.Info, published on October 28.
In his response to the journalists, David Arakhamia denied being the author of the messages. The MP also said he did not have a Telegram account registered to his American number. However, he confirmed using that number for WhatsApp.
Among the findings were comments from 2019 about possible appointments in the Prosecutor General’s Office. Journalists also found messages defending Arakhamia’s public decisions.
In October 2021, five days after Vsevolod Knyazev was elected head of the Supreme Court, an account linked to the politician’s number commented on a post about the court’s new head in the Shadow Anonymous Telegram channel:
“He got there thanks to his Mykolaiv connections with Arakhamia. Terrible investigators,” the account’s user wrote.
However, the journalists found no evidence that David Arakhamia had actually influenced Vsevolod Knyazev’s election.
Another episode concerned Ukroboronprom. On June 20, 2023, shortly before a new head was appointed, a user with Arakhamia’s number wrote that the head of the Servant of the People faction allegedly controlled personnel changes:
“Kamishin was brought in by Arakhamia. So it doesn’t matter who runs Ukroboronprom. It looks like Arakhamia is simply moving his person to another area,” read the comment from a user with the MP’s number.
The author of that message also suggested that Herman Smetanin would head the company. He was later appointed to the position.
Political commentators interviewed for the investigation were skeptical of claims that David Arakhamia had influenced these appointments. In their view, such posts may have created the impression that the MP had more political clout than he actually did.
Arakhamia himself named former head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, as the only representative of his circle in the new government. At the same time, the politician denied having a broad network of officials close to him.
David Arakhamia and Vitalii Kim also acted as guarantors for MP Iryna Kormyshkina, who was suspected of illicit enrichment. Both said they did so because the MP was cooperating with the investigation and had no intention of going into hiding.
In addition, Arakhamia confirmed meeting businessman Dmytro Firtash in Vienna. According to the politician, they discussed the possibility of opening a grain corridor to preserve the ports of Mykolaiv Oblast.
We previously reported:
- Support or risk? Kim and Arakhamia explain why they became guarantors for a wealthy Mykolaiv MP
- Kim recounts how he and Arakhamia fell out over a restaurant
- MP Arakhamia promises to fix a “personnel mistake” involving a “pro-Russian” candidate for head of the Mykolaiv District Military Administration
- Mykolaiv native Vsevolod Knyazev becomes the new head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court
- Zelensky removes Mykolaiv native Arakhamia from Ukroboronprom’s supervisory board
