Illia Volodymyrovych Kyva
russian: Илья́ Влади́мирович Ки́ва, translit=Ilya Vladimirovich Kiva (born 2 June 1977) is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

politician. He worked as an official and policeman before entering politics, heading the Poltava chapter of the

Right Sector Right Sector ( uk, Пра́вий се́ктор, ''Pravyi sektor'') is a right-wing to far-right, Ukrainian nationalist organization. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several radical nationalist org ...

party before taking the

Socialist Party of Ukraine The Socialist Party of Ukraine ( uk, Соціалістична Партія України, translit=Sotsialistychna Partiia Ukrayiny, SPU) was a social democratic and democratic socialist political party in Ukraine. It was one of the oldest par ...

under his control in 2017 and serving as its leader from 2017 to 2019. In 2019, he was an unsuccessful presidential candidate, and he proceeded to be elected as a member of the

Opposition Platform — For Life The Opposition Platform – For Life ( uk, Опозиційна платформа – За життя; russian: Оппозиционная платформа – За жизнь, OPZZh) was a parliamentary and now banned pro-Russian and Euros ...

party in the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

, Ukraine's national parliament, between 2019 and the 15 March 2022, when the Verkhovna Rada deprived him of his mandate, following comments in support of Russia during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

. During Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, he effectively defected to Russia by asking Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

for a Russian passport (Russian citizenship) and political asylum.

Biography

Until 2003, Kyva studied at the Oil and Gas Geological and Mechanical-Technical School in his native Poltava, specializing in maintenance. He also took courses to become a "pedagogue-psychologist". In 2005, he was hired to become the chief accountant of an industrial company. In 2009, he graduated with a degree in Law from the

Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University The Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University ( uk, Національний юридичний університет імені Ярослава Мудрого» (НЮУ), ''Natsional'nyi yurydychnyi universytet imeni Yaroslava Mudroho'') is a ...

. In 2010, he worked in the department of

roadwork ''Roadwork'' is a thriller novel by American writer Stephen King, published in 1981 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus '' The Bachman Books''. The story takes place ...

s. In 2011, he became the head of Poltava's

consumer rights Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

department, for a short spell of two months. He was charged for corruption by a district tribunal of the Poltava region, sentenced Kyva to ₴10,000, and barred him from public office for one year.

Politics

2013–2017

Kvya's political career began in 2013, when he unsuccessfully stood for the Verkhovna Rada. In 2014, Kyva became a police major (''майора міліції'') and was appointed commander of his native town's battalion, "Poltavshchyna". He became the leader of

's Eastern division stretching from Poltava to Donetsk, and was the representative of

Dmytro Yarosh Dmytro Anatoliyovych Yarosh ( uk, Дмитро Анатолійович Я́рош; born 30 September 1971) is a Ukrainian activist, politician, nationalist and military commander who is the main commander of the Right Sector's Ukrainian Vol ...

's 2014 presidential election campaign. He was then appointed deputy chief of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

' regional department for

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...

. At this time he also befriended

Dmytro Korchynsky Dmytro Oleksandrovych Korchynsky ( uk, Дмитро Олександрович Корчинський; born 22 January 1964) is a Ukrainian writer, poet, militant, and political activist who is the former leader of the far-right Ukrainian Natio ...

, founder of the St Mary's battalion which fought in the

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

. In 2016, he attracted controversy for endorsing extrajudicial methods of combating drug crime while at the helm of the ministry's anti-drug crime division. From 2016 to 2017, he was an advisor to

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...

2019–2022

Kyva was an unsuccessful candidate in the

2019 Ukrainian presidential election The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 March and 21 April in a two-round system. There were 39 candidates for the election on the ballot. The Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia an ...

, receiving a few thousand votes under the banner of the

. However, he would later make a political u-turn and get elected as a member of the pro-Russian

list in the

2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parliament on 21 Ma ...

. Kyva went on to host his own show on the ZIK TV channel, said to be controlled by oligarch and leader of co-chairman of the Opposition Platform

Viktor Medvedchuk Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk ( uk, Віктор Володимирович Медведчук, ; born 7 August 1954) is a Ukrainian lawyer, business oligarch, and politician who is since September 2022 living in exile after being handed over ...

. On 24 February 2022

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine. On the same day Kyva expressed support for the invasion, claiming "the Ukrainian people need liberation" and that "

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

, Belarusians,

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

are one people." Furthermore he stated that Ukraine was "enslaved and brought to its knees by

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

, imbued with

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

, and has no future." He blamed the war on

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

and urged him to resign. Prior to the invasion, Kyva had left for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. On 3 March 2022, Kyva was expelled from the party and faction of

. On 6 March 2022, Prosecutor General

Iryna Venediktova Iryna Valentynivna Venediktova ( uk, Ірина Валентинівна Венедіктова; born 21 September 1978) is a Ukrainian politician, academic, and lawyer, previously a prosecutor general of Ukraine from March 2020 to July 2022. S ...

announced that Kiva was being charged with

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, as well as infringing on Ukraine's territorial integrity, taking part in Russian war propaganda, and illegal weapons possession. On 15 March 2022, the

deprived Kyva of his mandate as a People's Deputy. On 17 April 2022, he called on

the Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...

to launch a nuclear strike on Ukraine from his

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

account, stating “Zelensky, his entourage and Western curators, are most afraid of a Russian preemptive strike, weapons of mass destruction. This is what can put an end to today's confrontation, not only with the Ukrainian authorities, but with the entire West.” On 18 April 2022, it was reported that Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations had opened a case of treason against Kyva for involvement in an illegal arrangement with a general of the Russian Armed Forces. On 21 April 2022, in an open letter to Russian president

, Kyva applied for Russian citizenship and political asylum. Based on the analysis of videos published on his Telegram account, Ukrainian investigation platform concluded (on 20 June 2022) that Kyva had settled in the cottage town of Agalarov Estate, near the village Pokrovskoye in Moscow Oblast.

Notes

References