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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
People’s Deputy Yuriy Kamelchuk at the beginning of November traveled on a tour of several European cities despite the ban on officials leaving Ukraine for vacation. To journalists the deputy initially said it was “parliamentary work,” then that he went on vacation, and later that the trip was related to his wife’s health. This is reported in a Bihus.Info segment.
Kamelchuk traveled with his companion (likely his current wife — ed.), Daria, who actively shared details of the trip on her social media, tagging and photographing the deputy.
The couple first visited Lisbon, then Cascais, and afterward Amsterdam. Journalists were able to identify specific locations shown in numerous stories and photos from social media, and they confirm the route the woman described.
Interestingly, in the middle of the trip Kamelchuk joined a live broadcast of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where he commented on the “Mindich case,” in particular discussing ways to leave Ukraine. The deputy recorded that comment right from the Atlantic coast in Portugal.
In response to journalists’ questions about the grounds for the deputy’s travel, he first said it was “parliamentary work.” However, when reporters asked for more details about official meetings, Kamelchuk said that he actually went on vacation and also that the trip was “half related to his wife’s health.” He did not want to explain how exactly or for what specific reason he had obtained permission. As a result, the deputy ultimately settled on the position that the ban on deputies leaving is unlawful.
“A government resolution cannot contradict the legislation of Ukraine. And Ukrainian legislation does not prohibit leaving at all. If the Cabinet made something up — that’s their problem,” Kamelchuk said.
Despite this, the Cabinet resolution that prohibits officials, including members of parliament, from leaving Ukraine without an official (business trip — ed.) reason remains in force. In January 2023 the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, also stated this. Earlier, Mykola Tyshchenko was expelled from the Servant of the People party for traveling to Thailand in the middle of the full-scale invasion, and Servant Yuriy Aristov lost his mandate altogether for a trip to the Maldives.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "“Слуга” Камельчук попри заборону з’їздив в тур по Європі і похизувався ним в Інстаграмі". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Bihus.Info.
