The Lviv Regional Military Administration (RMA) allowed men to travel abroad during a full-scale war with letters from a fictional public organization signed by Russian Emperor Alexander III and bearing the logo of Russiaʼs “Gazprombank”.
This is stated in the NGL.media investigation.
“Humanitarian Hope of the Nation”, which calls itself either a public organization or a “Ukrainian-French group”, wrote letters to the Lviv Military District requesting permission for conscripted men to leave Ukraine. The Ministry of Justice stated that it had no information about such an NGO.
During the fall of 2022, the Lviv RMA received five letters from the "Humanitarian Hope of the Nation”. The orders, signed by the head of the Lviv RMA Maksym Kozytsky, allowing departure, were issued on the day the letter was submitted or the next day. In total, eight men received permission.
NGL.media
Among them is a resident of Dnipro Artem Lushchan. In November 2022, he crossed the border with Poland by car, together with the freelance advisor to the head of the Lviv RMA Oleksiy Shevchuk. Lushchan was entered into the “Shlyakh” system as a volunteer driver for “transportation of humanitarian cargo across the state border of Ukraine”. NGL.media notes that Lushchan’s social media indicate that he still lives abroad.
According to NGL.media, at least seven of the eight men who left at the request of the Humanitarian Hope of the Nation did not return to Ukraine. One of them, Serhiy Valivodz, received two permits: first from the Humanitarian Hope of the Nation, and then from the NGO "Lviv Traveler", which does not exist legally. Presumably, this is also a fake organization.
The Lviv RMA confirmed that they only know of one driver from the "Humanitarian Hope of the Nation" who did not return on time, but their name was not given. After the State Border Service notified him in June 2024, his exit permit was revoked. Regarding the approval of exits based on applications from a fake organization, the RMA replied that the applicants are responsible for the accuracy of the data.
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