Denys Komarnytskyi, a former Kyiv City Council member accused of orchestrating a large-scale land corruption scheme, fled Ukraine in an elaborate operation allegedly involving both police officers and security service personnel, Ukrainska Pravda reports. The escape has ignited a firestorm of controversy not only for the corruption allegations but particularly for the disturbing misuse of a military vehicle typically reserved for transporting fallen soldiers.
The case has sparked intense public outrage across Ukraine, where martial law prohibits men aged 18-60 from leaving the country as they may be called to military service. Many Ukrainians are furious that wealthy, well-connected individuals like Komarnytskyi can apparently circumvent these restrictions with ease, despite facing serious criminal charges. The use of a vehicle meant for transporting war casualties has added a particularly painful dimension to the scandal.
Euromaidan Press has compiled this case’s key details that have shaken Ukrainian society.
Police, special agents, and the great escape
The investigation revealed that a camouflage vehicle bearing a “200” plate (commonly used for transporting deceased soldiers) traveled ahead of Komarnytskyi’s escape vehicle, scouting the route to ensure his unobstructed departure from the country. A Toyota Land Cruiser followed behind at a distance of 30 kilometers, also scouting the area and reporting on any roadblocks.
According to journalist Yuriy Tkach’s law enforcement sources, Komarnytskyi’s associate Yuriy Dovhalenko admitted during interrogation that the camouflage vehicle was deployed specifically to scout ahead and ensure a safe passage for Komarnytskyi’s escape operation.
The escape operation involved multiple vehicles and participants. On the morning of 11 February, Dovhalenko and three friends arrived in two Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles with cover plates not listed in the police database. They picked up Komarnytskyi from a cottage town near Kyiv and headed west. All of Dovhalenko’s associates were later found to hold identification as part-time operational staff for the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).
Near the town of Khust, two workers from the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police of Zakarpattia were supposed to meet Komarnytskyi at a gas station. One of them, Vitalii Bezkrovnyi, who was later arrested, had found someone willing to help the ex-deputy cross the border.
On February 16, Komarnytskyi was discovered in Romania, where he had entered a border police station and requested asylum.
SBU confirms key details, but denies full role
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), in a statement from 27 March available to BBC Ukraine, largely confirmed the version of events presented by journalists.
However, the SBU denied information that full-time SBU employees helped Komarnytskyi cross the state border.
“The individuals detained by the SBU were in the status of non-staff employees for less than 5 months (they were not on the special service’s staff and did not receive financial support). We emphasize separately: they were deprived of this status in early February, before the events being investigated in criminal proceedings,” the SBU stated.
The security service added that, in cooperation with NABU, they are identifying other persons “involved in organizing the transfer of D. Komarnytskyi across the state border to Romania from the territory of Ukraine.”
The “toilet scheme”: how Kyiv’s land was stolen
In early February 2025, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme within the Kyiv authorities. As part of the Clean City operation, investigators revealed that organizers of a criminal network had manipulated land allocation by the Kyiv City Council for illegal construction projects.
Members of the criminal organization identified promising land plots and registered ownership of non-existent structures on these plots under names of controlled individuals. This “toilet scheme” allowed them to submit applications to the city council requesting ownership rights to service these supposed structures, effectively bypassing public auctions.
“Each participant in the crime played a specific role to ensure the scheme operated like clockwork, ultimately bringing a valuable piece of Kyiv’s land under the control of its organizers,” NABU stated in their report.
According to the investigation, during 2023-2024, land worth 11.6 million hryvnias (approximately $290,000 USD) in central Kyiv was illegally taken from the territorial community. NABU reported that attempts to seize additional plots valued at over 83 million hryvnias (approximately $2.1 million USD) were prevented.
RBK-Ukraine sources revealed that alongside Komarnytskyi, other key figures in the case included former deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration (KMDA) Petro Olenych, and Kyiv City Council deputies Mykhailo Terentiev and Olena Marchenko. Deputies and officials reportedly received bribes in exchange for making favorable decisions.
Komarnytskyi rejects charges, faces global manhunt
Komarnytskyi, in a statement to the media, denied both his involvement in the alleged criminal schemes in the Kyiv City Council and the fact of illegal border crossing.
“Criminal cases have been fabricated against me in my homeland, which are falling apart due to lack of evidence. And now, when everything started to ‘deflate,’ journalists have been brought in. But by spying from a car, it’s impossible to see reality. This is using the media to carry out dirty orders. Obviously, someone really needs this topic to stay on the agenda,” his statement to the media reads.
He claimed that journalists pursued him illegally abroad. Komarnytskyi insisted that he is abroad “on legal grounds” and visiting his family who fled from the war.
Meanwhile, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos announced that they plan to put Komarnytskyi on an international wanted list.
Arrests and firings shake Kyiv’s power structure
The Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine reported that three police officers were dismissed and formally charged for assisting in Komarnytskyi’s escape.
Ukrainska Pravda later located Komarnytskyi in Vienna, Austria, after he had traveled from Kyiv to Zakarpattia and crossed the Romanian-Ukrainian border without officially entering either country.
In total, ten individuals have been implicated in the land corruption case. Petro Olenych was sent to custody for two months, until 6 April, with the possibility of posting a 15 million hryvnia bond (approximately $375,000 USD). He was later released on bail and dismissed from his position at KMDA in early March.
Following the scandal, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko announced the dismissal of several other KMDA officials involved in the “land case.”
Read more:
- Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Court is breaking the cycle of impunity
- Ukraine arrests incumbent minister on corruption charges
- $ 6 million undeclared wealth unravels careers of mother-son top officials in Ukraine’s fight against corruption
