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Igor Gladkovsky, 22 – the son of Oleg Gladkovsky, deputy secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council – is involved in large-scale embezzlement schemes that involve smuggling Russian military equipment into Ukraine, journalists allege. Oleg Gladkovsky is a close friend of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

On February 26, Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and leading presidential candidate, publicly accused Poroshenko of treason while her Batkivshchyna party launched impeachment proceedings.

According to Ukraine’s Constitution the president can be impeached if he or she “commits high treason or other crimes."

The claims were made by an investigative project known as Nashi Groshi by Bihus.info, a Ukrainian media outlet. According to their reporting, in 2015, Igor Gladkovsky procured Russian military equipment – which was then purchased by Ukraine’s state defense amalgamation Ukroboronprom at several times market rates – with the consent of the company’s management.

The journalists assert that Igor Gladkovsky turned to his father for help at the highest levels while the dirty work – such as the procurement of supplies and transfer of funds – was done by partners Vitaly Zhukov and Andrei Rogoza. The scheme netted at least 250 million hryvnia ($9 million), which was then laundered through various methods, Nash Groshi said.

On February 26, President Petro Poroshenko voiced support for the removal of Oleg Gladkovsky from office.

"The President of Ukraine supports the removal of Oleg Gladkovsky from the duties as the first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council while an investigation is carried out," said administration spokesperson Svyatoslav Tsegolko.

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Poroshenko also called for an immediate investigation looking into the allegations’ facts, as direct evidence of wrongdoing has not yet been presented.

Ukroboronprom blasted the claims as “manipulative.”

This is not the first time Oleg Gladkovsky has been the subject of controversy. In 2018, journalist Vasily Gritsak accused him of cooperating with Russia’s intelligence services and doing business in Crimea. Gladkovsky subsequently asked Ukraine’s State Security Service to initiate proceedings against Gritsak for making the allegations.

/By LP Luo