Former MP Pavlo Rizanenko spread a fake about the alleged family ties of Ukrainian businessman Viktor Polishchuk to the Russian elite, probably not only to build his political career, but also to promote his family's business interests, UNN reports.
Details
A journalistic investigation revealed that the information that Viktor Polishchuk's wife, Lilia Rizva, is the niece of the wife of Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev, appeared in 2015-2016. It was disseminated by the current MP Pavlo Rizanenko in his blogs at the time, but he has never provided evidence of this information. UNN asked Rizanenko to provide documents that would confirm his assumptions, but he refused to comment, citing the fact that he has been a non-public figure since 2019.
It is obvious that the former MP tried to use this fake as a tool to undermine Polishchuk's reputation and thus add to his political achievements.
However, it is likely that Rizanenko was not guided by political motives alone. As you know, his stepfather Hryhorii Artyukh was the founder of the Luka Development company.
Businessman Viktor Polishchuk was still engaged in the construction business at the time of the fake news launch. Therefore, Rizanenko probably tried to influence Polischuk's business reputation and reduce his credibility by spreading fake information in order to take away his market share for Luka Development.
In addition, the media reportedthat the real owner of Luka Development was Pavlo Rizanenko, and that the business was only formally registered in his stepfather's name.
Recall
Former MP Pavlo Rizanenko and his family lived in Russia for a long time and built their career there. In particular, he worked for the Russian company VMSPO-AVISMA, which fully meets the needs of the Russian defense industry in titanium products. Ukraine imposed sanctions against this company. There are suspicions that Rizanenko left Ukraine just before the start of the full-scale invasion for a reason, as he was probably being suspected of cooperating with sanctioned Russian companies.
In addition, Rizanenko may not be just an ordinary ex-people's deputy who has escaped responsibility, but a “waiter” who is waiting for a signal from Russian curators for further action. After all, as you know, companies associated with the Russian defense sector do not employ ordinary people “from the street.