Oleksii Mykolaiovych Arestovych ( uk, Олексій Миколайович Арестович; born 3 August 1975) is a Ukrainian intelligence officer, blogger, actor, political and military columnist, and propagandist. He was a speaker of the
Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine
The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine (also known as the Trilateral Contact Group for the peaceful settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine) is a group of representatives from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the Organization for Secur ...
. He worked as a Strategic Communications Advisor of the
Office of the President of Ukraine
The Office of the President of Ukraine ('' uk, Офіс Президента України'') (formerly ''Administration of the President of Ukraine'', uk, Адміністрація Президента) is a standing advisory body set up by ...
from December 2020 to January 2023.
Early life
Oleksiy Mykolaiovych Arestovych was born in
Dedoplistsqaro
Dedoplistskaro or Dedoplistsqaro ( ka, დედოფლისწყარო, , literally: ''Queen's spring'') is a town in Kakheti, Georgia with the population of 5,940. The town is located in the Shiraki Plain, eastern Georgia, and functions a ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
from
Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast (russian: Воронежская область, Voronezhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the 2021 Census.
Geography
V ...
, Arestovych spent a significant part of his childhood in Belarus. In 1992, he graduated from school No. 178 in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
.
He entered the Faculty of Biology,
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...
. In 1993, Arestovych began to perform in the modern Kyiv studio theatre Black Square Theater, and left school.
He started conducting psychological seminars and trainings in 2000. In 2003, he entered the author's school "Man among People" by psychologist Absalom Podvodny, from which he graduated in 2010. He also studied
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
Про роботу в ТКГ, Зеленського і «таємниці, які нікому не розказував»: Олексій Арестович у «Рандеву» and more than 1.2 million (April 2022) on YouTube. Arestovych was among the top 100 bloggers in Ukraine in a poll published by Fakty ICTV in 2019.
Military career
Arestovych is a graduate of the
Odesa Military Academy
The Odesa Military Academy is a modern higher military institution of the inter-services Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is one of the oldest military academies in the former Russian Empire, having been active for more than a century. has deep histor ...
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
.Олексій Арестович (речник ТКГ) у Рандеву з Яніною Соколовою Ютуб, 21 листопада 2020
Since 2014, he has been preparing combat units under the People's Reserve program, organizer of a charity fund to provide psychological support to the military in the
Anti-terrorist Operation Zone
Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone ( uk, Зона проведення антитерористичної операції, translit=Zona provedennya antyterorystychnoyi operatsiyi), or ATO zone ( uk, Зона АТО, translit=Zona ATO), is a term use ...
(2014–2017).
From September 2018 to September 2019, he served in the Joint Forces Operation near
Kramatorsk
Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a City of regional significa ...
Brotherhood
Brotherhood or The Brotherhood may refer to:
Family, relationships, and organizations
* Fraternity (philosophy) or brotherhood, an ethical relationship between people, which is based on love and solidarity
* Fraternity or brotherhood, a mal ...
political party, led by
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 ...
. In that period, he repeatedly took part in conferences and events of the Eurasia Movement of
Aleksandr Dugin
Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin ( rus, Александр Гельевич Дугин; born 7 January 1962) is a Russian political philosopher, analyst, and strategist, who has been widely characterized as a fascist.
Born into a military intelligen ...
, where he actively opposed the
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...
. Arestovych, as the Deputy Chairman of Korchynsky's Brotherhood Party, appeared next to Dugin in Moscow and delivered a speech against the prospect of Ukraine's
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and EU integration. Arestovych said that "the West cannot give Ukrainians the opportunity to preserve their culture, but instead will begin to reprivatize strategically important objects. Ukrainian factories will be taken over by Washington and Brussels."
At the beginning of 2009, together with Korchynsky, he organized the citizens' initiative "Get everyone out", the task of which was "to get the authorities to solve the main problems of small and medium-sized enterprises and the country's motor carriers".
In June 2009, he was appointed deputy head of the Primorsky District Administration of the Odesa City Council, but he was dismissed after three months at his own request.
On 28 October 2020, Arestovych was appointed by
Leonid Kravchuk
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( uk, Леонід Макарович Кравчук; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed ...
as Adviser on Information PolicyАрестович заявив, що його призначили радником української делегації в ТКГ з інформполітики /ref> and official speaker of the Ukrainian delegation to the
Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine
The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine (also known as the Trilateral Contact Group for the peaceful settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine) is a group of representatives from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the Organization for Secur ...
War in Donbas
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 o ...
. On 1 December 2020, the Head of the
Office of the President of Ukraine
The Office of the President of Ukraine ('' uk, Офіс Президента України'') (formerly ''Administration of the President of Ukraine'', uk, Адміністрація Президента) is a standing advisory body set up by ...
Andriy Yermak
Andrii Borysovych Yermak ( uk, Андрій Борисович Єрмак; born 21 November 1971)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. An ...
, Arestovych became known for his 2019 prediction on the inevitability of a war with Russia. From the start of the invasion on 24 February 2022, he held daily briefings on the situation, as an adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. These videos garnered him a significant following.
From 24 February 2022 until he resigned, Arestovych held daily briefings on the current situation regarding the
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. An ...
, as an Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
He also holds informal daily conversations covering the invasion on lawyer
Mark Feygin
Mark Zakharovich Feygin (russian: Ма́рк Заха́рович Фе́йгин; born 3 June 1971) is a former Russian lawyer and human rights activist who represented Pussy Riot, Nadiya Savchenko and Leonid Razvozzhayev in Russian courts. He ...
's YouTube channel.
Arestovych is an organizer of psychological seminars and trainings and a charity fund for psychological support to the military.Справа Шеремета та зустріч Зеленського з Путіним — Прогнози Арестовича /ref>
In August 2022, Arestovych announced that he plans to run for the
presidency of Ukraine
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...
if Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not run for a second term.
On 14 January 2023, Arestovych made a comment that a Russian
Kh-22
The Kh-22 (russian: Х-22; AS-4 'Kitchen') is a large, long-range anti-ship missile developed by MKB Raduga in the Soviet Union. It was designed for use against aircraft carriers and carrier battle groups, with either a conventional or nuclear wa ...
missile had destroyed a multi-story residential building in Dnipro after being hit by an Ukrainian air defense counterattack, while the Ukrainian position is that Ukrainian forces did not try to intercept the missile. On 16 January 2023
Russian President
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
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 ...
's
press secretary
A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage.
Dut ...
Dmitry Peskov
Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov ( rus, Дмитрий Сергеевич Песков, p=pʲɪˈskof; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat and the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian Ground Forces
The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the Army, land forces of Ukraine and one of the five Military branch, branches of the Armed For ...
“For Special Service” (July 2019)
*Distinction of the
President of Ukraine
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 ...
“For participation in the anti-terrorist operation”
*Breastplate “Badge of Honor” (May 2019)