Ruslan Osypenko: what connects him to the Yanukovych Jr. case

The Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration has been headed by Police Lieutenant General Ruslan Osypenko since 8 January 2026. Before his appointment he led the Donetsk Oblast police for more than four years, and earlier held senior positions in the Kyiv police during Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency. In the first months of the new head’s tenure, the administration’s public procurement records showed expenses on jewelry and souvenir watches totaling more than 1,28 million UAH. At the same time, questions remain about Ruslan Osypenko’s prior career, his asset circle, and his interactions with local authorities that require public explanation.

Ruslan Osypenko was appointed head of the Chernivtsi RMA by presidential decree on 8 January 2026, media report. Before moving to Bukovyna he led the Donetsk Oblast police. While working in the frontline region, police units, including the “Bilyi anhol” (White Angel) groups, were involved in evacuating civilians. For that work in 2024 Ruslan Osypenko received the Order of Danylo Halytsky. However, his service record is not limited to the period of the full-scale war. In 2011–2014 Ruslan Osypenko served as first deputy head of the Shevchenkivskyi District Police Department of Kyiv — head of the criminal police — and later became head of the district department. It was during this period that a criminal investigation into the All-Ukrainian Development Bank, which was linked to Oleksandr Yanukovych, the son of the then-president, was closed in that unit. The investigator decided to close the case due to the absence of a corpus delicti.The head of the Anti-Corruption Center, Vitaliy Shabunin, publicly criticized that decision. His position concerned the circumstances of the case closure and was not a judicial finding of personal responsibility on the part of Ruslan Osypenko. At the same time, the period when the future head of the Chernivtsi RMA worked in the district police coincided with the time when law enforcement agencies were investigating structures connected to the Yanukovych family.In 2015 the Civic Lustration Committee included Ruslan Osypenko in a list of 50 officials whom activists considered necessary to dismiss. In 2016 his name also appeared in an informal list of so‑called non-lustrated officials published by the media outlet Antikor. These lists were assessments by civic activists and journalists. They are not court decisions or official findings of violations by Ruslan Osypenko.Separate questions were also raised about the financial circumstances of the official’s family. In 2017 the outlet Prestuplnosti.NET analyzed Ruslan Osypenko’s declaration for the previous year. According to the data published then, in 2016 his wife received a loan of 450 thousand UAH from Kyiv resident Vyacheslav Bohachyk. At the exchange rate at that time the amount exceeded 16 thousand USD.According to YouControl, Vyacheslav Bohachyk was engaged in entrepreneurial activity in the food trade. Later he participated in a tender for placement of a temporary structure in Shevchenkivskyi District of Kyiv — the same area where Ruslan Osypenko previously worked and led the district police.Additionally, a person with the same name and surname appeared as a representative of the civic organization “Hromadyansky Korpus” (Civil Corps) in Shevchenkivskyi District and in 2014 ran for Kyiv City Council from the Afghan Veterans Party. However, name coincidences and the mentioned facts alone do not prove any business or personal arrangements between Vyacheslav Bohachyk and Ruslan Osypenko. There are no public confirmations of such a connection in the cited materials.The most conspicuous spending item of the Chernivtsi RMA after Ruslan Osypenko’s appointment concerns purchases of jewelry and related goods. According to Clarity Project, from the start of the new head’s tenure until the beginning of October 2026 the administration carried out 22 successful procurements totaling 7,09 million UAH. Of that, the category “jewelry and related goods” accounted for 1,28 million UAH.

Separately, in May 2026 the Chernivtsi RMA announced a procurement of souvenir watches with an expected value of 732,75 thousand UAH. Award and souvenir products can be used by authorities for official events and citizen recognition. However, the purchase amount and its purpose raise questions about who exactly the items were intended to be given to, by what criteria recipients were chosen, and how many watches were actually purchased. A public explanation of these expenses would allow assessment of their appropriateness.Another set of questions concerns land and forest conflicts in the region. Regional media reported on the situation in the Seliatyn community where, according to published information, redistribution of land in favor of the forestry enterprise could have affected 169 private plots. The Kamianets community also appealed to NABU, the SBI, and the Office of the Prosecutor General with a statement about possible offenses involving officials of SE “Lisy Ukrainy” (Forests of Ukraine), the Chernivtsi RMA, and prosecutor’s offices.At the same time, some of the land disputes arose before Ruslan Osypenko became head of the region. Therefore the mere existence of conflicts does not indicate the new RMA head’s involvement in possible violations. Establishing his role requires documents on specific administrative decisions, their initiators, and the officials who approved the relevant actions.Unlike tense relations between some communities and authorities, Ruslan Osypenko established communication with the Chernivtsi City Council fairly quickly. Already about a month after his appointment, Mayor Roman Klichuk publicly praised cooperation with the new regional head. According to the mayor, communication between the city council and the RMA had improved, and Ruslan Osypenko responded promptly to the city’s problems.Before that, Ruslan Osypenko had criticized the state of the road infrastructure, unfinished construction projects, hospitals’ readiness, and issues with power outages. During one meeting with community representatives Roman Klichuk spoke of what he considered unfounded pressure by law enforcement on the city authorities, including suspicions, searches, and property seizures. Ruslan Osypenko replied that there are no unfounded actions, but suggested that community heads inform him of proceedings they consider biased and promised to review such appeals.This stance raises questions about the limits of the regional administration’s powers in matters that are under investigation by law enforcement. The RMA does not replace investigation bodies or the prosecutor’s office, and assessment of the legality of procedural decisions belongs to the bodies defined by law and to the court. Therefore it is important that the reviews Ruslan Osypenko promised do not turn into interference in criminal proceedings.Journalistic materials also drew attention to Mayor Roman Klichuk regarding a conflict between the city council and a tenant of a municipal premises in central Chernivtsi and business interests of the mayor’s family. These circumstances alone do not prove violations by the mayor or any arrangements with the RMA leadership. However, against the backdrop of land disputes, million-hryvnia procurements, and claims of pressure by law enforcement, transparency of regional and city decisions remains important for assessing their interaction.In sum, Ruslan Osypenko’s work as head of the Chernivtsi RMA has been accompanied by several blocks of publicly significant questions: purchases of jewelry and souvenir products, land conflicts, circumstances of his prior police career, and financial episodes previously covered by the media. Some of these circumstances require additional documentary explanation, while others remain subjects of public debate. Responses from the administration about the cost of purchases, the purpose of the watches, and decisions in land matters would make it possible to separate confirmed facts from conjecture.