Experts: Those who did not stand with the country in difficult times have no moral right to claim a political career

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many former and current MPs have moved abroad and have remained silent about the war. It is possible that one day they will want to return to Ukrainian politics. The experts interviewed by UNN emphasize that it is, of course, up to the voters to decide whether such politicians can return to power, but from a moral point of view, they have no political future.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, scandals have repeatedly arisen due to the fact that, despite the restrictions, some officials have abused travel abroad. According to media reports, there have been cases of local council members fleeing Ukraine under the guise of volunteers through the Shlyakh system, including Vitaliy Abramov, a member of the Kharkiv Regional Council, and Stanislav Lebedev, a member of the Kharkiv District Council. In addition, a deputy of the Kharkiv Regional Council, Kyrylo Kernes, has been living abroad almost since the beginning of the full-scale war.

The media repeatedly caught Ukrainian officials on expensive vacations abroad during the war. At the same time, it is worth noting that some deputies of the banned OPFL managed to "escape" from Ukraine before the outbreak of a full-scale war.

"Political responsibility is established by voters and a certain audience supporting or not supporting the politician... The main factor in punishing a certain politician is always society. That is, if society wants to see him or her, even despite some sins, it will vote for him or her. Unfortunately or fortunately, these are the realities. If the society condemns him, it will not support him in the elections under any circumstances," said Yaroslav Bozhko, political consultant, head of the Center for Political Studies "Doctrine", in an exclusive commentary to UNN.

In his opinion, a significant number of politicians who went abroad could have made this decision to avoid problems in Ukraine, for example, to avoid being mobilized.

Ukrainian political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko also supports the assertion that the future political prospects of those abroad will depend on the voters.

"In a broad sense, if we say that someone is doing time abroad, it is not only politicians, but also a significant part of Ukrainians... If we are talking about politicians, they bear a greater responsibility, because they, as people who were supposed to help organize resistance to the Russian invasion, did not do so. And therefore, from the point of view of normal political logic, such people have no political future, because they were not with the country in the most difficult times and did not help the country," he emphasized.

Political expert Volodymyr Tsybulko believes that people who have left Ukraine and do not help the country and the frontline should not participate in government at any level.

"I support the idea that people who have fought in the war can be appointed to public office and local government. This should be the main incentive for people to join the army. And I would deprive those who have withdrawn themselves of the right to vote for 10 years. Not the right to vote, but the right to run for office," he said.

According to him, it is the people who defended the country who should shape policy, and those who did not live in Ukraine during the war "have no right to be elected at least in the next two cycles.

At the same time, Ukrainian businessman, blogger, and philanthropist Garik Korogodsky said in an interview with Natalia Moseychuk that he considers people who keep silent about Russia's full-scale invasion to be Ukraine's enemies.

"It's a war of ideology, you are on the side of good or you are on the side of evil. If you are silent today, whether it is in relation to countries, to people, to anyone, if you are silent, you are also on the side of evil, and I believe that the one who is silent is the enemy," he said.

Recall

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saidthat there are currently questions about men liable for military service who left Ukraine illegally during the war. It is important not only to defend Ukraine at the front, but also to pay taxes to the budget.