Law enforcers explain raid targeting Chernihiv regional, municipal authorities

The State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine are conducting warranted searches in the Chernihiv Regional Council and City Council as part of an ongoing probe into the foreign travel of officials amid martial law.

That’s according to SBI spokesperson Tetiana Sapian, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, Ukrinform reports.

The SBI clarified that, based on court warrants, law enforcement officers launched seven searches – in the regional and municipal offices and in the acting mayor’s home.

According to Sapian, the acting chairman of the Chernihiv City Council arranged for himself a business trip to Germany from May 7, 2023. Now the probe focuses on his alleged detour to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Poland. According to the SBI, the official was abroad from approximately May 7 to May 21.

In addition, according to law enforcement, the deputy chairman of the Chernihiv Regional Council went on a business trip to Latvia starting June 19, 2023, from where he allegedly flew to Turkey, returning to Ukraine on June 30.

As reported earlier, on the morning of October 26, Chernihiv’s acting Mayor Oleksandr Lomako said the SBI detectives were raiding his home.

Earlier, on September 5, Security Service operatives also searched Lomako's apartment.

Memo: Chernihiv established twinning relations with France’s Reims and Germany’s Aachen. The official signing of the relevant agreements took place on May 9 and May 14. Lomako traveled to Aachen on the same dates as President Volodymyr Zelensky.