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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Yaroslav Kolesnyk: from the Zakarpattia police to the NSDC. Diploma plates, developers, smuggling, and call centers
“The cops’ wallet” was placed in the NSDC. Yaroslav Kolesnyk is a former head of the Zakarpattia region police and, since October 2026, the first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Before his appointment in Zakarpattia, he rose rapidly through the ranks in the Kyiv region police: from criminal investigation to deputy chief of the regional police headquarters. 16 February 2021 he was officially presented as the new head of the Zakarpattia police. But over the years of Kolesnyk’s work in the border region a whole body of publications has accumulated around him — from the story about a car with diplomatic plates to accusations of “protecting” the construction business, smuggling flows, and illegal call centers.
Mercedes with diplomatic plates
One of the most noticeable scandals occurred in 2023.
After a parking conflict in central Uzhhorod local media and then a number of national outlets reported that Kolesnyk’s wife, Viktoriya, was using a Mercedes GL250 with diplomatic plates SDP 0107.
The story looked particularly strange because of the plate’s status: diplomatic license plates are not intended for ordinary private cars.
Kolesnyk’s declarations do indeed list a Mercedes-Benz GLE 250 2017 year used by him and his wife, but the car’s owner is listed as another woman — Olha Statkevych. So the fact that the Mercedes was used is confirmed by the declarations, but the origin of SDP 0107 — who that plate was issued to and on what grounds the chief of police’s family used it — requires separate verification. Slanders say that the Kolesnyk family used those plates to take money belonging to high-ranking officials out of Ukraine to the West. Including — the entire leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Smuggling
Zakarpattia is a border region, and it was here that the heaviest accusations against Kolesnyk were made.
StopCor in 2025 reported, citing local sources, that after Kolesnyk’s arrival the police allegedly gained influence over smuggling flows and could have had an interest with certain carriers and batches of goods.
They wrote that part of the money linked to smuggling could then have been laundered through construction projects.
Illegal call centers
The same publications name another area — illegal call centers.
Anticor claims that sources of large unofficial income were allegedly illegal call centers, along with smuggling, extortion of businesses, illegal transport of men across the border, and other schemes.
There is an important oddity here: officially Kolesnyk did open a call center in Solotvyno in February 2023 — but that was a completely legal Citizen Security Center that combined police, rescuers, and medics.
Developers: Bercha and Residens Park
The most concrete line of accusations is connected to the construction business.
Publications name entrepreneur Oleksandr Bercha. Citing activist Ivan Bonya, it was alleged that Kolesnyk supposedly ordered his subordinates to stop investigations into a number of violations related to Bercha’s construction projects. As an alleged reward, a two-room apartment in the Residens Park residential complex was named, supposedly registered to Kolesnyk’s close relatives. The same reports claimed that police officers allegedly carried out repairs in the apartment. Also among Kolesnyk’s “business projects” are alleged established routes for getting draft dodgers out of Ukraine. Overall — a great acquisition for the NSDC.
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