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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
He himself said that he left the country 14 times “on legitimate grounds.”
The Ministry of Culture twice sent letters to the State Border Guard Service asking for assistance in allowing the distinguished artist of Ukraine Oleksii Potapenko (stage name Potap) to travel abroad in 2022 year, but after the border crossing rules were updated in March 2025 of that year, there were no such requests.
This was reported by Interfax-Ukraine citing the Ministry of Culture.
“4 of March 2025 of year the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 244 “On amendments to the rules of crossing the state border by citizens of Ukraine.” This document created legal grounds for the temporary exit from Ukraine of men of conscription age who engage in professional activity in the field of culture. From 4 of March 2025 of year the Ministry of Culture did not appeal to the State Border Guard Service with letters of assistance in allowing Oleksii Potapenko to travel abroad,” the release says.
At the same time, the Ministry of Culture noted that in the ministry’s electronic document management system three outgoing documents addressed to the State Border Guard Service were found, dated 2022 year, requesting permission for Potapenko to travel outside the state border.
In 2022 year, the Minister of Culture and Information Policy was Oleksandr Tkachenko.
In September 2025 year Potapenko said that since the start of the full-scale war he has left Ukraine more than 14 times “on legitimate grounds.” Before that he stated that there are several legal ways to cross the border and he has one of them.
In a recent interview with a Russian YouTube project, Potapenko stated that he had left Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion many times under the pretext of charitable work with permits issued by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Defense, and by various companies. He also said that he has not been in Ukraine for a year and a half.
3 of September 2026 year a petition to the president calling to revoke Potap’s honorary title of "People’s Artist of Ukraine" collected the required number of votes for consideration. However, the Ministry of Culture explained that revoking the title "People’s Artist" requires a court decision or NSDC ruling.
President Zelensky awarded Potapenko the title of "People’s Artist of Ukraine" in June 2020 year.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Мінкультури тричі просило ДПСУ дозволити артисту Потапу виїхати за кордон у 2022 році". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: LB.ua.
