Ukrainian MP Attacked After Anti-Corruption Inquiry

What You Need To Know:

✓ “If it was just a threat, it was much easier to throw this bottle at my husband’s car, parked not next to the house;”

✓ Voitsitska is known for her active role in the fight against corruption in the energy sector and for her part in exposing the union between oligarchs and state-run companies;

✓ Ukrainian energy Industry, valued at about $11.3 Billion, has “always been a source of cash for the enrichment few and most of our oligarchs became oligarchs thanks to access to assets and resources in the energy sector;”

✓ The attack was well-planned, however, the motive is still unclear.

In the early morning of March 17th, 2016, Victoria Voitsitska, Member of Parliament from ‘Samopomich’, woke up from a loud distinctive sound, to notice that her car, parked close to the bedroom window, was burning. The MP, known for her active role in the fight against corruption in the energy sector and for her part in exposing the union between oligarchs and state-run companies, is certain that this action was not a warning, but rather an attempt to take her life: “If it was just a threat, it was much easier to throw this bottle at my husband’s car, parked not next to the house.”

The energy industry, Ukraine’s largest, is valued at about $11.3 Billion. According to Voitsitska, “ it’s always been a source of cash for the enrichment few and most of our oligarchs became oligarchs thanks to access to assets and resources in the energy sector.” With a background in oil and gas, and as secretary of the Energy Committee in Ukraine’s Parliament, Voitsitska is focused on changing the Energy sector from “a close club for selective people to an open market with open opportunities for everyone.”

According to evidence, the attack was well-planned, however, the motive according to Voitsitska is still unclear: “it's not necessarily related to the latest things I’ve been working on, it might be related to something I’ve been working on earlier, some corruption scheme that I’m trying to uncover. It can be anything in oil and gas, in electricity, in legislative initiatives related to introducing new schemes.”

Josh Kovensky of Kyiv Post and Hromadske spoke to Victoria Voitsitska, MP from Samopomich, on March 20th, 2016 in Kyiv.