A deputy mayor of the Ukrainian capital Kiev has been accused of helping conscripts flee abroad to avoid military service, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office said today, quoted by DPA.
The official is believed to have arranged permits for 31 men to leave the country as fuel truck drivers. This happened in May and June 2022, and some of the men did not return after traveling to EU countries.
Prosecutors did not say whether the deputy mayor was paid for his services. If convicted, he could face up to seven years in prison.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 have been banned from traveling abroad unless they have a permit from the regional conscription office.
Klitschko fired the deputy mayor in December last year after investigative journalists reported suspicions that city property had been acquired by friends of the deputy mayor in question.
The official is a city council member from the opposition party "European Solidarity" of former President Petro Poroshenko.
According to political observers, the series of accusations against Klitschko's entourage is an attempt by the country's leadership to damage the reputation of the capital's mayor.
Klitschko is considered a possible competitor to President Volodymyr Zelensky in future elections after martial law is lifted.