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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Ukrainian authorities should explain why they urge the European Union to tighten sanctions against Russian oligarchs, but have not yet removed their property interests in Kyivstar. This is the view expressed by political scientist Yevhen Mahda in a blog on OBOZ.UA.
Mahda reminded of Foreign Minister Andriy Zyba’s statement, who called the removal of Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov from the EU sanctions list a mistake. In the political scientist’s view, demands to European partners should accompany the decision on Russian capital in Ukraine.
"But before criticizing Brussels, Ukrainian authorities should also explain certain double standards. Specifically, why Fridman, Aven, and Kosygov remain the main beneficiaries of Ukraine's largest mobile operator? With what arguments do we convince Europe to pressure Russian capital if we themselves keep it in our strategic infrastructure?" Mahda wrote.
Referring to the publication on Censor.NET, he noted that Fridman, Petro Aven, and Andrey Kosogov, through LetterOne and VEON, collectively retain approximately 43,4% indirect economic interest in Kyivstar Group.
"Ukrainian personal sanctions are in effect, but the ownership has not ceased. The value of the Ukrainian operator remains part of their capital. The managers of Alfa in the governance of LetterOne and VEON continue to be Alfa people. Some 'alpha-males,'" the political scientist stated.
Mahda also drew attention to a report by soldier and journalist Bohdan Butkevych about financial deals of the Russian "Alfa-Bank" with "Rostelecom." According to the data cited in the blog, in June 2026 this year the bank concluded a factoring agreement for 20 billion rubles and bank guarantees for 11,5 billion rubles.
In this context, the political scientist posed a question about expanding the state’s cooperation with Kyivstar. He noted that the operator offers government agencies telecommunications services, cloud solutions, data work, and cybersecurity.
"Ministry of Digital Transformation reports an official sale through Kyivstar of Starlink services for the public sector: budget procurements, connection and maintenance. The state is expanding cooperation with the mobile operator, behind whose back stand Russian beneficiaries. Why is the removal of their property interests repeatedly postponed for years, while digital partnership moves forward?" Mahda wrote.
In his assessment, the concentration of telecommunications, transport, and medical services within a single group requires the state’s attention due to potential risks for user data and the continuity of operations. In this context he mentioned Helsi, Tabletki.ua, and Uklon.
The political scientist also reminded of a large-scale cyberattack on Kyivstar in December 2023 of this year. Referring to the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection’s report, he emphasized that Russia views digital infrastructure as a target of war.
"The government must publicly explain how it assesses the risks of the national operator’s ownership structure and why it has not yet removed the Russian property interests. Until a decision is made, inaction looks not just like consent to preserve the current ownership structure, but like cover-up. More precisely— a 'big roof-building' of Russian interests," Mahda summed up.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item ""Якими аргументами ми переконуємо Європу?" Магда закликав владу пояснити російський майновий інтерес у "Київстарі"". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Gordon.
