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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The scandal surrounding the alleged pressure by Member of Parliament Arseniy Pushkarenka on Estonian officials threatens the trust of Ukraine's allies and requires an independent investigation. While the check is ongoing, he should be suspended from fulfilling his duties as deputy head of the party, Servant of the People.
This position was stated by Yuriy Podorozhnyi, an expert with the Ukrainian Center for Public Development, in a blog on Censor.NET.
The reason was Eesti Ekspress's investigation into alleged attempts by Pushkarenka to influence the distribution of Estonian aid to Ukraine. According to Euronews? Actually 'Europa Pravda' reported that Estonian officials spoke of pressuring specific projects, media pressure, and statements about possible punishment of officials after the government change. According to the investigation, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna instructed to halt working contacts with the deputy.
Podorozhnyi emphasizes that Pushkarenka's party status makes this story a matter of accountability by Servant of the People leadership. The expert urged the party leader Oleksandr Kornienko to explain what explanations he demanded from his deputy, whether he received documents from the Estonian side, and when the public will see the results of the check.
“An independent investigation is needed, obtaining materials from the Estonian side, verifying powers, negotiations and expenses. At this time, Pushkarenka should be suspended from duties as deputy head of the party,” the author stated.
Separately, Podorozhnyi raised the issue of budget expenditures. For the year 2026, Servant of the People has been allocated 585,4 million hryvnias in state funding. The expert believes it is necessary to document whether trips, organizational support and communications for Pushkarenka related to this story were funded from party or other budget funds. The fact of such funding for those expenses has not been established.
The author also critically evaluated the explanation of the scandal as a “Russian trail.” He drew attention to the reputation of Eesti Ekspress and its investigation into Russian influence. In Podorozhnyi's view, if the described journalist behavior is confirmed, it could give the Kremlin a reason to propagate against supporting Ukraine.
The greatest political risk, the expert links to the president Volodymyr Zelenskiy's reputation: a scandal involving one of the leaders of his political force could, in his view, undermine efforts to attract international aid.
“To risk allies’ trust for the sake of keeping one party official in office is unacceptable,” Podorozhnyi emphasized.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Пушкаренка необхідно відсторонити від керівництва "Слуги народу" на час розслідування естонського скандалу, – експерт". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: UNIAN.
