Roman Kravets turns down parliamentary seat after CEC confirmation

Earlier, MP Dmytro Natalukha terminated his powers after the Verkhovna Rada appointed him as head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU). Natalukha was elected in the nationwide multi-mandate electoral district from the Servant of the People party. Kravets was the next in line on the party’s electoral list under No. 153.

Roman Kravets told Ukrainska Pravda in a comment that he is refusing the mandate because he left for Israel due to vision problems on legal grounds.

“I have decided for myself that I will not go to the Verkhovna Rada and I refuse the MP mandate. I believe that during wartime, professional people with experience should be in power. Now I understand that my experience is not sufficient to be an MP during the war,” Kravets said.

He is yielding his place on the list to “the most worthy person who comes after me.” The next candidate after Kravets on the Servant of the People electoral list is businessman Bohdan Kozub.

Who is Roman Kravets?

hromadske investigators established that Roman Kravets is the owner of the anonymous Telegram channel “Joker,” which is reportedly linked to the Office of the President.

In 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine reported that “Joker” came under the attention of law enforcement as a channel “used by unidentified persons for destructive information activities detrimental to Ukraine’s national security.”