Yefremov, Kremlin agreed to support terrorism in Luhansk, Landik alleges

Oleksandr Yefremov, the former head of the Party of Regions parliamentary faction, met with top Russian officials in February 2014 to discuss how to divide the assets of Luhansk region once the separatist activity began, alleged local businessman and former MP Volodymyr Landik in an interview with the news.online.ua news site published on June 1. The Russians allegedly promised Yefremov control of the region after their interference, he said. “They divided who among the local businessmen who get the mines, Severodonetsk Azot,” he said, referring to a top producer of nitrogen fertilizer. “In Luhansk, who would get the shopping malls, markets. Yefremov promised this redistribution to his entourage with Putin’s guarantee.” Sergei Glazev, a top adivsor to Putin, engaged in these talks and frequently visited Luhansk, Landik said.

Landik said he gained this information from “Yefremov’s closest people.” The Russian leadership ultimately ended up betraying its promises to Yefremov, he said. “Those who believed Yefremov had everything confiscated and chopped into scrap metal,” he said. “And Putin had a simple justification – the Ukrainian army didn’t allow us into Kyiv, so I won’t fulfill my promise.” Luhansk separatists were financed by the Communist Party, including the local head, Spiridon Kilinkarov. Landik said he submitted all this information, including recordings of the negotiations, to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which requested that he not distribute it. He also said he informed Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council secretary Oleksandr Turchynov and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, neither of whom expressed interest in these crimes.

Landik’s wealth was estimated at USD 150 million in 2013 – before the terrorist activities in Donbas – by an annual survey conducted by Kyiv’s Focus magazine. His Nord group of companies includes a Donetsk-based refrigerator manufacturer.

Zenon Zawada: Landik offered some incredible claims that would confirm suspicions that were widely held about Yefremov for a long time. Therefore, it’s all the more startling that he’s being prosecuted for merely inciting ethnic tensions, when he is alleged to have been involved in far graver crimes. To add insult to injury, prosecutors dismissed even these petty criminal charges against him in April.

We expect denials of such crimes by Yefremov, who will allege that Landik is a local rival interested in undermining his authority. Yet the claims certainly warrant investigations, the absence of which would further bolster the widely held conspiracy view that the nation’s oligarchy has established amongst each other an unspoken agreement of immunity from criminal prosecution.