Olena Leonidovna Lukash ( uk, Олена Леонідівна Лукаш,

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 ...

: Елена Леонидовна Лукаш) is a Ukrainian former jurist, politician, former

Minister of Justice of Ukraine The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство юстиції України) is the main body in the system of central government of Ukraine that regulates state legal policy. It is often abbreviated as "Мinjust" f Ukraine I ...

, as well as a former member of the

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of Uk ...

. She was a Merited Jurist of Ukraine (2010). From February 2014, Lukash was wanted for charges of murder and mass complicity in the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

when President Yanukovych fled to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. She is believed to have fled to Russia in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity. From then she was also placed on an EU sanctions list. From June 2015 Lukash was also wanted on abuse of office and fraud charges. On November 5, 2015, the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...

arrested Olena Lukash upon her return to

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 ...

from Russia, and a court was opened to file charges against her. However on November 10, she was released on bail of over 5 million

Hryvnia The or ( ; uk, гривня , : ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 . It is named after a measure of weight used in medieval Kievan Rus'. Name Etym ...

after she claimed that she deliberately had gone to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine to give evidence for an investigation into the deaths of over a hundred people in the Revolution of Dignity. In 2020, it was alleged that Lukash was currently hosting a program and guest-appearing on pro-Russian channels owned by

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 ...

, as part of a wider Russian disinformation campaign against Ukraine.

Life and career

Born on November 12, 1976, in Rybnitsa,

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

, Lukash lived in

Severodonetsk russian: Северодоне́цк , other_name = Severodonetsk , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = Severodoneck prapor.png , image_shield ...

since 1977. She graduated from the Academy of Labor and Social Relations at the Trade Union Federations of Ukraine in 2000. In 2001, she received a certificate to conduct jurist activities and in 2001–03 directed a company "Agency "In the Name of Law" (Агентство "Іменем Закону"). In 2004–05 Lukash was a senior instructor at the Ukrainian academy of foreign trade and later the Jurist Agency "Libera". In 2005 she defended several participants of the "Severodonetsk Congress". From 2006 to 2012, she was elected to 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 ...

. During that time Lukash was a

People's Deputy of Ukraine People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights ma ...

and the First Deputy Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers. In 2010–11 she was the First Deputy Chairman of Presidential Administration and represented 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 ...

in the

Constitutional Court of Ukraine The Constitutional Court of Ukraine ( ua, Конституційний Суд України) is the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine interprets the Constitution of Ukraine in terms of l ...

. In December 2012 Lukash was appointed the Minister of Cabinet of Ministers. On July 2, 2013,

Oleksandr Lavrynovych Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Lavrynovych ( uk, Олександр Володимирович Лавринович; born June 28, 1956 in Ovruch) is a Ukrainian physicist, lawyer, politician, former member of the Supreme Council of Justice (Ukraine), ...

was elected as member of the Supreme Council of Justice of Ukraine. Lukash replaced Lavrynovych as Justice Minister 2 days later.

Family

Her younger sister Tetyana, Merited Jurist of Ukraine (2010), is a member of the

Central Election Commission of Ukraine The Central Election Commission of Ukraine ( uk, Центральна виборча комісія України, commonly abbreviated in Ukrainian as ЦВК (''Tse-Ve-Ka''); sometimes referred to as the Central Electoral Commission of Ukrai ...

. Lukash's husband

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Hryhoriy Ilyashov is a former director of the

Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба зовнішньої розвідки України, translit=Sluzhba zovnishn’oyi rozvidky Ukrayiny) or SZRU is an intelligence agency of the Ukrainian government. It carries out ...

. He was replaced in late June 2014.

Sanctions

Listed in the

List of people sanctioned during the Ukrainian crisis Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2014, numerous countries have placed international sanctions on Russia and Crimea as the Russo-Ukrainian War continued. Leading economic and political powers, such as the United States an ...

References

External links

Handbook "Who is who in Ukraine". "KIS Publishing"

Lukash's page at the Verkhovna Rada website

Profile at the Government website

Interview at "Ukraine the Criminal"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukash, Olena 1976 births Living people People from Rîbnița Party of Regions politicians Women government ministers of Ukraine Fifth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Sixth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Cabinet Office ministers of Ukraine Justice ministers of Ukraine Pro-government people of the Euromaidan Ukrainian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Ukraine Female justice ministers 21st-century Ukrainian women politicians Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions Recipients of the Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Women members of the Verkhovna Rada