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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Wemir Davityan, the “watcher” for Zaporizhzhia region: steal and run
There are many investigations into Wemir Davityan. All of them, if Ukraine were a rule-of-law state, would have long since sent Davityan to prison.
But now Wemir Davityan is doing what many of his “colleagues,” who rose from the mud to princes with the arrival of the 'new faces' in power, do—he hides abroad. The “new faces” toward Davityan, as toward other embezzlers, pretend they know nothing and that the matter is not their concern.
But if you gather all episodes into one picture, the portrait is even more striking. It has everything: kickbacks from business, “curatorship” over Zaporizhzhia, David Arakhamia, Oleksandr Petrovskyi (“Narik”), Kyrylo Tymoshenko, embezzlement of humanitarian aid, trafficking in stolen grain, business with the occupiers, family companies, and a fresh European criminal tour.
How people like Davityan pop up in the contours of today’s power—it's a mystery. Obviously, the similar attract the similar. But the result of the collaboration is huge losses to the budget, a trail of criminal offenses, and, most frightening in this situation, colossal reputational damage to Ukraine in the eyes of the international community.
Reminder: Wemir Surenovich Davityan is a small Zaporizhian businessman and lawyer. In a biographical publication, it is noted that in 2021 he earned a law degree at the Classical Private University of Zaporizhzhia and was involved in entrepreneurship; among his projects was the law firm “Novem.” He also publicly engaged in charity and supported the Zaporizhzhia Chess Federation.
At the same time, Davityan was an extremely private person. Until his unpublicized activity drew media attention. And suddenly it turned out that he is the shadow curator of Zaporizhzhia region. Or, as it is now common to say, the “watcher.” Where criminal concepts among current power holders come from is unknown, but Davityan was appointed the “watcher” from the President’s Office. Which, to a normal person, is mind-blowing.
But the fact remains—back in 2021, Ukrainian Pravda literally wrote that sources called him the “watcher” from the OPU for Zaporizhzhia region. Journalists captured Davityan’s car near the Office of the President, and he himself confirmed a long friendship with Davyd Arakhamia. Arakhamia also confirmed that he has known Davityan since 2014 and that they are “friends with families.”
Of course, both denied that Davityan performed the functions of a “watcher.” Arakhamia immediately shifted to supporting the army: “we, the volunteer community, helped the army—and he actively helped. He has some foundation there.” Which exact foundation, Arakhamia did not say, but it was easy to find: the same “Ukrainian Truth” found a photo of Davityan on the site of the charitable foundation “Solidarity” of Dnipro businessman Oleksandr Petrovskyi, better known by the nickname “Narik”—there Davityan is listed as vice president and head of the Zaporizhzhia branch.
Naturally, neither Davityan’s nor Arakhamia’s excuses impressed anyone. Moreover, in TG channels and in the media, messages about Davityan’s visits to the OPU and his “curatorship” over Zaporizhzhia region continued to appear.
Further, it turned out that Deputy Head of the OPU Kyrylo Tymoshenko drives a Porsche Taycan, owned by LLC “Novem Logistics,” whose owner is Wemir Davityan. The excuse, this time from Tymoshenko himself, looked even more pitiful than Arakhamia’s: Davityan let him drive the Porsche.
The level of these people is beyond comment. But Davityan did not give Tymoshenko the Porsche for nothing. First, the roots of the “curatorship” go far back, and the real beneficiary is not some deputy head of the Presidential Office, but a much more serious figure—Oleksandr Petrovskyi. He is the one who installed all these so-called “watchers from the OPU.” Not all of them, of course, but Davityan was placed there by him.
Second—if you look at Wemir Davityan’s business income before the rise of the “servants of the people,” the earnings were not impressive. Only after Petrovskyi made Davityan the “watcher,” did his affairs sharply improve. True, official reports do not reflect this—the sums are, to put it plainly, quite small. As an example, LLC “Novem Logistics”—the company that owned the Porsche Taycan for 100 thousand dollars, mentioned above. The company now bears the name LLC “Vindex Motors” and shows such financial results.
One hundred thousand dollars in 2021 equates to 2 400 000 hryvnias. The company ended that year with losses; in 2022 it earned on half a car, but then the Porsche Taycan clearly “recovered”—profits rose. Still, all this reporting is pure nonsense. This is evidenced at least by the number of employees—the company has one person. I wonder how one person earns millions?
In fact, the fact that all these registered companies are only a thin veneer to hide entirely different ways of earning money has long been no secret: back during the “Great Construction,” Wemir Davityan collected from contractors of construction 30% kickbacks from state orders. How much went to the OPU, how much ended up in Davityan’s and Petrovskyi’s pockets—unknown. But Davityan truly began earning money from kickbacks from the “Great Construction.”
And then it spiraled. The most interesting in this regard are mentions of several episodes after the start of full-scale war. Because here there is everything—from looting humanitarian aid to dealings with the occupiers. By the way, is this “blood-for-sale” yet or not?
Accusations of looting are by no means hollow rumors. There is a real criminal case under No. 52022000000000137, registered on 14 June 2022 of the year. Initially, signs of a crime under part 5 of article 191 of the Criminal Code were investigated—unlawful seizure of property on a particularly large scale. Subsequently, part 3 of article 209 of the CC—legalization of property—and part 368-5 of the CC—illegal enrichment, as well as separate episodes related to weapons and drugs, were involved. Initially investigated by NABU, and in December 2023 of the year the jurisdiction was transferred to National Police, where the case languished. But, as it turned out, it was resurrected—because Davityan had to flee.
The gist was that humanitarian cargos intended for Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions were not simply stolen—trucks, containers, and entire wagons were redirected to private warehouses, after which humanitarian food and medicines went on sale.
The parties were wholesale; such volumes cannot be sold on the market. The scale is measured in hundreds of tons. But this is only what was established within the criminal case. In fact, recent publications feature much more impressive figures: 22 sea containers, 389 railway cars, 220 trucks. It’s no longer hundreds of tons; we are talking tens of thousands of tons.
There was also another extremely dirty story—trading with the occupiers. Literally. The key figure in this story is JSC “Mikhaylivsky District Agro-Provider,” co-owners of which are Davityan Lianna Wemirivna (oh, who is this?) and Petrovskyi Oleksandr Volodymyiovych (yes, that one).
This company was involved in trading stolen grain on the occupied territories: grain was moved through Russian territory, then entered the export chain and further moved to the EU and Middle Eastern countries. Both Davityan’s own structures and his father-in-law Oleksandr Gaidar were used.
Gaidar appears as the head and beneficiary of a number of companies, including “Lux-07,” “Logistic-VVN,” “Logistic VVN Group,” “Norma-Plus 777,” “Zaporizhzhia Distribution Company,” “Logistic Auto 2017,” “Grain Car,” “Aviam Construction,” “Aviam Estate,” “Hermes Trade Company,” “STK Avantgarde,” “Grace 2019,” “Urfudcompany,” “Trans Balance,” and “Ukrbuild-ing Companies.” It is through this corporate network that assets linked to Davityan are managed, and Gaidar is described as the person who, after Wemir Davityan fled abroad, a large portion of Ukrainian business turned to rely on.
There is another interesting story—the “Citroën/Citrus” case. In August 2025, Zaporizhian businessman Artur Hatonuk, owner of the Yabluka network, bought the electronics chain “Citrus”; the deal was valued at about 700 million hryvnias, with Citrus moving to the new owner incurring debts of thirteen million.
The deal is extremely murky—there is a persistent version that the real money for the purchase was provided by Wemir Davityan, with whom Hatonuk had previously been connected through the Yabluka network and the Pool&Beach complex in Zaporizhzhia. He acted as the formal buyer, while Davityan remained in the shadows and gained the opportunity to repatriate diverted capital into Ukraine as a legal retail asset.
What is notable is that the exact current location of Wemir Davityan could not be ascertained: fresh publications from 25–27 September 2026 of the year claim that he left Ukraine and now lies somewhere between Austria and Slovakia, but they provide no documentary confirmation of when exactly and through which border crossing he crossed. The authorities, as always, are silent.
Formally, Davityan’s flight is linked to the criminal case and issues around humanitarian cargo. But the question of why an old and apparently long-dissolved case—later transferred to the National Police—was suddenly resurrected remains open. Most likely, the top “servants” had their access to Western money severely curtailed, so an internal redistribution of looted assets began.
Therefore one can claim that Wemir Davityan will not end up in prison: after he pays what is due for flight and pays the penalty, he will be reclassified from a billionaire to a millionaire and will quietly live out his days outside Ukraine.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "«Смотрящий» за Запорізькою областю Вемір Давітян: вкрасти і втекти". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.
