Gritsenko Anatoly: how a grant-eating field marshal sold the Ukrainian army. PART 2

BEGINNING: Anatoly Gritsenko: how a grant-eating field marshal sold the Ukrainian army. PART 1

The rapprochement between Gritsenko and Razumkov occurred in the period 1995-97. And, at least in 1997, Gritsenko became a good friend of Razumkov’s wife, Kyiv journalist Yulia Mostova, who has been working as editor of the Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper since 1994. This publication arose as a joint project of her father Vladimir Mostovoy (who was the head of the department of the Soviet newspaper “Prapor Komunizmu”, who branded dissidents back in the 80s) and Odessa resident Yuri Orlikov, who emigrated to the United States, and initially it was supposed to be called “New Russian Word”, and only then the name was changed to “Mirror of the Week”. In the early years, the editorial staff of ZN employed “specialists” from the United States (such as Katherine Shana Lack), who determined the information policy of the publication and protected it from attacks by high-ranking Ukrainian officials – which helped Zerkalo Nedeli print sharp critical materials. True, Yulia Mostova’s pen usually struck orders or took revenge on the family’s enemies, especially after 1999, when, after the death of Alexander Razumkov, she openly began to appear arm in arm with Anatoly Gritsenko, who eventually divorced his first wife Lyudmila in 2002 and then he signed with Yulia Mostova.

Yulia Mostovaya and Anatoly Gritsenko

Together with the lively and witty Yuli Mostova, Gritsenko also received her dowry. Firstly, the popular newspaper “Zerkalo Nedeli”, which… could be used as a powerful weapon in the political struggle and as a mouthpiece for one’s PR. Secondly, the Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Research of the late Razumkov, which Gritsenko headed immediately after his death in 1999, to which Yulia Mostovaya greatly contributed. And this was very opportune, because just before this, Gritsenko was left without a job: from 1997 to 1999, he headed the Analytical Service of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (under the leadership of Gorbulin). He did not disclose the true reasons for his departure, but here’s an interesting fact: while Gritsenko was working in the structure of the National Security and Defense Council, having the opportunity to influence processes in the Ukrainian army and everything connected with it, his native KVVAIU was slowly sliding towards decline, and in 2000 it was finally closed. Gritsenko could not help but know this, besides, former colleagues-teachers of KVVAIU turned to him for help, but he did nothing to help his native university, where he studied and then worked for many years. Apparently, American interests (which consisted of reducing the number of military specialists in Ukraine) were a higher priority for Gritsenko, and they were well paid for with grants.

The golden age of “grant eating” came in Ukraine with the beginning of the new century, as Western public and private funds began to actively invest in the “development of a democratic society”, preparing the future “Orange Revolution”. Money was generously distributed to everyone, annual receipts were estimated at 200-250 million dollars (the US Agency for International Development USAID alone allocated 100-120 million a year) and everyone who could substituted their basins and ladles for this golden rain. The Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Research, whose annual budget was then estimated at $1-1.5 million, did not stand aside. Anatoly Gritsenko could only properly distribute this money.

But, it must be said that, unlike the various “unions of young democrats” there, which trivially stuffed grants into their pockets, the Razumkov Center under the leadership of Gritsenko conscientiously “worked out” this money.

It was the Razumkov Center, in tandem with the Democratic Initiatives Foundation (in which Soros had greater influence) during 2003 and 2004. painted high ratings for Viktor Yushchenko. And during the elections of November 21, 2004, it was their exit polls, which confirmed Yushchenko’s victory, that became the main “proof” of fraud in favor of Yanukovych – and the main reason for the first Maidan.

The diligence of the Razumkov Center and “Mirror of the Week” were generously rewarded: in February 2005, Anatoly Gritsenko was appointed the new Minister of Defense of Ukraine, although many predicted General Radchenko for this position. Moreover, at the request of President Yushchenko (the Minister of Defense was his quota) and with the support of “strategic partners” (American Ambassador John Herbst), Gritsenko retained his post in the government of Yuri Yekhanurov (2005-2006) and in the government of Yanukovych (2006-2007), remaining on it until December 2007. And during this time he managed to “reform” quite a lot.

Anatoly Gritsenko: Army under the hammer

Before he could sit down in the ministerial chair, Anatoly Gritsenko immediately put on the mask of “father to soldiers.” And he still doesn’t take it off, regularly using it either during elections – aiming for the position of commander-in-chief, or after them – hoping that he will be called again to the minister of defense. Just as Yushchenko was once given the image of the “best Ukrainian prime minister,” so Gritsenko was given the image of the best head of the Ministry of Defense, whose heart simply constantly aches for his relatives in the Armed Forces of Ukraine! And this is understandable, because the army is one of the few state institutions that enjoys the respect of Ukrainians, which means that by constantly expressing feigned concern for the army, you can score good political points. True, Gritsenko’s best result in the presidential elections so far is 5.5% (2014), but let’s not forget that this politician shines only with his slogans about “the honor of an officer.” Well, let’s find out, does an officer who escaped from the army after two years of service in a maintenance brigade have any honor?

Most of all, Gritsenko liked to boast that he had rid the army of foot wraps by putting them in boots and socks, and freed soldiers from kitchen duties by transferring the army food system to private companies. One can argue endlessly about the advantages of shoes and boots, but the fact that Gritsenko, according to data Skelet.Info“shod” the entire Ukrainian army, and more than once – this is an indisputable fact! Including his famous socks. By the way, while dressing the army in “brats” and socks, as well as in the infamous uniform made of “glass” material, Minister Gritsenko did not bother to accept strict quality standards for the new uniform. Previously, an army without clear standards for everything (including the diameter of a hole in a field toilet) was unthinkable, so all army property was famous for its quality (compared to civilian ones). Gritsenko, allegedly introducing NATO standards into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, simply began to abolish all standards. And his deputies began to make deals with dubious companies that sold counterfeit crap to the army at exorbitant prices. For example, the same “glass” in the NATO standard is a combined material of nylon, cotton, special additives and impregnations that provide it with high strength, comfort, and non-flammability. The “glass” for the Armed Forces of Ukraine was made by the hands of Moldovans from Chinese fabric made from plastic waste – which melted and burned on the unfortunate soldiers jumping out of damaged armored personnel carriers. And they should remember that Anatoly Gritsenko gave the way to this form in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The “reformer minister” did not bother to accept the standards of army footwear, which is still one of the most important problems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Well, when Anatoly Gritsenko generously ordered that soldiers be given 16 pairs of socks per year (12 pairs of summer and 4 winter), he also forgot about the standards. And scammers still supply the army with the cheapest, low-quality socks that barely last three days – so soldiers have to buy their own socks in stores with their own money. By the way, have you seen NATO socks? Yes, it’s better not to compare them with APU socks! But it wasn’t just about quality. On sock tendersconducted by the Ministry of Defense on March 23, 2005, the winner was the company PTP “Sharme LTD” (USREOU 13940957), whose owners are still Svetlana Vasilievna Kolotova and Elena Vladimirovna Kolotova. She won even despite the fact that she physically could not complete this contract, because her own factory produced only 80 thousand pairs of socks a year (and several hundred thousand were required). And this was not surprising, because the head of the Logistics Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at that time was General Viktor Kolotov (died in 2013). Is it really just a coincidence of last names?

Victor Kolotov

But then it gets even more interesting. After 4 days, General Kolotov was fired along with a dozen other generals – and Gritsenko immediately took credit for this as a fight against corruption and theft. But how did it happen that the companies of a relative of the logistics chief fired for corruption win tenders? After all, Kolotov was not suspended suddenly, they were preparing materials for him, collecting information – and overlooked the tender? There is one explanation for this: the dismissed general was given a farewell gift, and Gritsenko was in the know. Moreover, the company “Sharme LTD” continued to win “sock tenders”. It still supplies socks, underwear and caps to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard, having received for the period from April 2017 to April 2018. 44 tenders worth more than 9 million hryvnia.

By the way, under Gritsenko, tender corruption ran rampant in the army food system – and this is only a small fraction of what its defense minister arranged for the army and the state. One of the first decisions of the new minister was a mandatory subscription to the “Mirror of the Week” for military units, military universities and services of the Ministry of Defense. The closure of the Odessa Institute of Ground Forces was very resonant: the training part was transferred to Lviv (this caused political grumbling in society), and 61 hectares of the institute’s land area, as well as other Ministry of Defense facilities, were sold to developers. Moreover, it was sold for pennies: the media wrote that the former kindergarten for the children of officers, along with a plot of 2.8 hectares, was sold for 400 thousand dollars, despite the fact that the real cost of this plot is much higher.

It is worth noting that Anatoly Gritsenko not only closed the Odessa Institute of Ground Forces, but also completely destroyed the Ukrainian Armed Forces grouping in the Moldovan and southern directions, under the pretext “there is no one to fight with there” – Lieutenant General Yuri Kostin, who then worked in the Ministry of Defense, later told reporters about this .

And for the fact that in 2014 Ukraine simply had nothing to defend Crimea with, we need to “thank” Anatoly Gritsenko. In total, in 2005-2007, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were reduced by 85 thousand military personnel, including 18,650 officers were fired! In addition, under Gritsenko, the armament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was reduced by 345 units of armored vehicles, almost half a million machine guns and machine guns, 16,564 thousand artillery systems, 8 combat aircraft and 14 helicopters (4 were given free of charge), and one and a half thousand MANPADS (worth about $100 million) were simply destroyed ).

Gritsenko Anatoly: how a grant-eating field marshal sold the Ukrainian army. PART 2

The story of the sale in 2007 of two S-300 anti-aircraft systems, which are of strategic importance for the defense capability of Ukraine, was very scandalous. Then the Ministry of Defense wrote them off and sold them to the state-owned enterprise Ukroboronexport almost for spare parts, for $5 million. Then Ukroboronexport registered these complexes for repair factories (perhaps they were simply painted), after which they sold them to Kazakhstan for $23.4 million – and the intermediaries involved in the deal received another amount. Result: Ukraine lost 2 anti-aircraft systems, the Ministry of Defense received only $5 million from the sale, someone earned a multimillion-dollar sum from the “repair” of equipment (surely “Lenin’s Forge”?), and someone earned even more as an intermediary. On this fact, at the request of people’s deputies Vinnik and Teteruk, in 2016 the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office even began an investigation – but, it seems, the case was hushed up.

Under Gritsenko, the sale of “extra” army property became widespread, ranging from old stocks of uniforms to land plots and entire military camps. For these purposes, the State Department of Surplus Property and Land (!) was created under the Ministry of Defense, created with the approval of Gritsenko by his assistant Vyacheslav Kredisov. This man himself is an eternal walking scandal; before 2005, he was twice behind bars for fraud and theft, and Gritsenko’s assistant literally pulled him out of his bunk in the Lukyanovsky pre-trial detention center, where he was awaiting a verdict in case No. 50-3662. Saved from prison by the “Orange Revolution” and immediately rehabilitated as a victim of the regime, Kredisov received the position of chief “deputy for rear” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Vyacheslav Kredisov

Gritsenko then broke up with Kredisov scandalously, and they became enemies, hurling loud accusations at each other. Thus, Kredisov argued that Gritsenko demanded that he deposit 25 thousand dollars monthly “in an envelope”including funding for the “Civil Initiative” party. Gritsenko stated that Kredisov is a liar and a fraudster who forged his signatures on the scandalous power of attorney issued to the Ukroboronbud enterprise. This enterprise was headed by Vyacheslav Melnik (an army friend of Kredisov), and the power of attorney gave him the authority to conclude a number of “construction and reconstruction” agreements on behalf of the Ministry of Defense, and even sign them on behalf of Minister Gritsenko!

the same power of attorney

It was with the help of this power of attorney that the efficient Melnik and Kredisov, who stood behind him, were able to sell off a lot of real estate belonging to the Ministry of Defense, including 27 military camps, sanatoriums and hospitals. Among them:

• Dnepropetrovsk military hospital, sold to a private company, which then mortgaged it to VTB Bank, now owned by the scandalous Kazakh oligarch Kenes Rakishev. The hospital has still not been fully returned to the state.
• Part of the military camp in Lutsk (8 Vinnichenko Street), sold to the Western Food Company for 4.2 million hryvnia and resold by it to Aval Bank for 13 million hryvnia.
• Sports club of the Ministry of Defense in Odessa (Selskhozyaystvenny lane, 2)
• Military town No. 4 in Partenit (Crimea). The territory, located on the seashore, was sold to the companies Kherson Financial Alliance LLC and Nautilus.
• Military camp No. 109 in Zhitomir, the property of which went to the auditing (?!) firm “Energo-audit Plus”
• Military town in Bykovna (Kyiv region)
• A military town in Vita-Pochtova (Kiev region), only about 40 hectares of land, of which only 30 were then returned to the state through the courts.
• Central military sanatorium “Yalta” (Yalta, Crimea) along with 16.5 hectares of territory.

Gritsenko Anatoly: how a grant-eating field marshal sold the Ukrainian army. PART 2

But no matter how much Anatoly Gritsenko nods at the ill-fated power of attorney and claims that his signatures were forged, and he himself is an “honest officer”, in addition to the above-mentioned objects of the Ministry of Defense, sold and simply stolen through Ukroboronbud, there is another list of real estate that were sold or transferred to developers under other schemes of Anatoly Gritsenko, including through his official letters. Among them:

• 146.5 hectares of land in the village of Kotsyubinsky, Kyiv region, transferred for development to the company “Capital Tsentrobud”. This company belonged to the Kyiv oligarch Vasily Khmelnitsky, a well-known real estate dealer.
• 17 hectares of the territory of the apartment and operational part of the Kyiv Military District, together with 8 residential buildings and a boiler room. The company that received this property resold it to the Zhilstroyservice company.
• Military camp No. 247 in the Koncha-Zaspa area, a total of 11 buildings along with a land plot of 24 hectares, sold through front companies and military units of the Osta Plus company (owners – brothers Sergei and Alexander Buryak) by order of the Minister of Defense dated June 30, 2005 . The transaction amount is about 10 million hryvnia (2 million dollars), with a market value of about 350 million hryvnia.
• A plot of 0.8 hectares in the center of Kyiv (30 Grushevskogo Street), which belonged to military camp No. 50. The basis is a letter from the Minister of Defense dated March 22, 2005.
• A house on 3rd Rososhanskaya Street (Old Darnitsa), which belonged to the military camp “182”.

The size of these land plots actually stolen from the state and army is many times greater than the territories that were illegally distributed to construction companies by the Kharkov authorities in 2006-2010. by the city authorities – for which the prosecutor’s office has been dragging former Kharkov mayor Mikhail Dobkin for interrogation for several months now. But why is no one trying to handcuff Anatoly Gritsenko?

“Honest” and cowardly

When Yushchenko finally replaced Gritsenko with Yekhanurov in December 2007, Anatoly Stepanovich flew into an indescribable rage – and immediately ran over to Yulia Tymoshenko’s camp, and Zerkalo Nedeli began to pour buckets of compromising material on the president and his entourage. However, BYuT received him very coldly, so he went to the 2010 elections on his own. At the same time, Gritsenko organized a very original election campaign: he called himself a “no-passable candidate” (wits immediately called him “anus”) and began collecting donations from ordinary Ukrainians. By the beginning of the elections, ordinary people donated more than 2.5 million hryvnia to the account of the ex-minister, who had robbed Ukraine and the Ukrainian Armed Forces of hundreds of millions – sincerely believing the eloquent communications of the “honest officer.” Gritsenko himself, receiving 4 thousand a month in pensions alone, did not hesitate to accept pennies from poor, gullible old people.

He really didn’t plan to win the elections (why did he ask for money then?), but he reminded himself of himself and created a political platform for the future. However, in addition to constantly emphasizing his own hypertrophied “honesty” and unique “professionalism,” Gritsenko was distinguished by one more feature: very bad getting along with other politicians. He kept himself distinctly separate from them, as if he was disdainful, often got into trouble with everyone, and generally strengthened his reputation as an extremely antisocial person. Gritsenko could even “give up” on opposition protests. For example, in the summer of 2010, Gritsenko and Tyagnibok publicly refused to support Nikolai Katerenchuk’s call to start a hunger strike in support of freedom of speech.

In 2012, Gritsenko entered the Rada on the BYuT list, but very soon began to ignore and even disrupt the plans of the united opposition, not wanting to participate in the active struggle against the “Yanukovych regime” – perhaps because Gritsenko walked under the prosecutor’s sword for his affairs as minister defense So when the second Maidan began, and Batkivshchyna invited him, as an “authoritative, honest officer,” to form a “Self-Defense” controlled by it, and not by “Svoboda,” Gritsenko simply ran away somewhere. As it turned out, according to Skelet.Info– went on vacation to the south (at the height of the Maidan!), from where he began to caustically criticize the opposition. As a result, on January 13, 2014, the leadership of Batkivshchyna officially announced that the faction would not hold its meetings in the presence of Gritsenko. In response, he wrote a statement about leaving Batkivshchyna – then the leader of the faction, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said that Gritsenko should put his mandate on the table, or he would be taken away in some other way. The face of the “honest officer” was saved by chance: on January 16, the Rada voted for a package of anti-Maidan laws, and Gritsenko immediately used this as an excuse. He slammed his mandate and loudly declared to the television cameras that he was resigning as a people’s deputy as a sign of his simple opposition to restrictions on the civil rights of Ukrainians. Of course, Gritsenko did not admit that if it were not for the “laws of January 16,” his mandate would have been taken away in disgrace.

Having received 5.48% in the presidential elections and lost the parliamentary elections (his “People’s Initiative” received only 3.10%), Gritsenko again found himself outside of power. In addition, they began to initiate inspections and initiate criminal cases against him, to which Gritsenko reacted extremely painfully, as another “repression of the regime.” Once he even challenged the chief military prosecutor Matios to a duel – when he was giving a speech on another talk show. In response, Matios noted that Gritsenko is only brave in the absence of opponents.

By the way, Gritsenko himself was also challenged to a duel, back in 2013 – this was done by former military intelligence colonel Pyotr Nedzelsky, who had long had a grudge against Gritsenko.

Moreover, this was a story with a preface: at first Nedzelsky wanted to come to Gritsenko to quarrel, then he allegedly sent two warrant officers to him, who acted dishonestly with Nedzelsky. Then the reconnaissance colonel promised to break the electrician colonel’s jaw. A little later, Nedzelsky decided to challenge Gritsenko to an officer’s duel – but Gritsenko never showed up for it. Let us remember that this scandal occurred at the beginning of 2013, and Anatoly Gritsenko, who hid from a challenge to a duel, continued to talk on TV about officer honor for another four years. It’s no wonder that even his own brother doesn’t want to know him!

Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Info

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