Lawmakers Above the Law: While the Ministry Regulates Evacuations, MP Tkachenko Ignores Inquiries as His Van Runs on Stolen Kyiv Mercedes Plates

A striking institutional contradiction has emerged at the highest levels of Ukrainian authority.

On one hand, the Ministry for the Development of Communities, Territories, and Internally Displaced Persons, led by Vitaliy Bezgin, has introduced comprehensive reforms to Cabinet Decree No. 841: end-to-end evacuation corridors, strict regional military administration accountability, mandatory advance shelter booking in safe rear hubs, and certifying evacuations as complete only upon verified arrival. The government is attempting to eliminate chaos and establish transparent standards.

On the other hand, his parliamentary colleague—MP and Deputy Head of the Human Rights Committee Maksym Tkachenko—along with his affiliated NGO "VPO Ukraine," blatantly illustrates why disorder persists. Key lawmakers demonstrate a total refusal to comply with the laws they enact, failing to answer formal press inquiries while operating vehicles in open violation of traffic laws and the Criminal Code.

Silence on Hrushevskoho Street: Tkachenko Stonewalls the Press

The mandatory five-day deadline under Ukraine's Law "On Access to Public Information" has expired with no response from MP Tkachenko regarding the activities of "VPO Ukraine".

Specific questions substantiated by official records from five state agencies were delivered to the lawmaker:

• Why do the official brand and emblems of his NGO appear on an unregistered, smuggled van operating without military permits?
• Under what legal authority does "VPO Ukraine" manage humanitarian transport when Ministry of Social Policy records confirm the NGO is not registered to receive or handle humanitarian cargo?
• Is his associate, Oleksiy Bakhtin, authorized to solicit substantial donations into personal bank accounts under the umbrella of an elected member of parliament?

The lack of response speaks volumes: any written acknowledgment from Tkachenko would either confirm his complicity in an illegal scheme (Art. 364 of the Criminal Code) or force a public disavowal of his own political front. When a lawmaker disregards statutory transparency laws, parliamentary oversight fails entirely.

The License Plate Shell Game: From a Scrapped British 4x4 to a Kyiv Luxury Crossover

While parliament maintains its silence, a bizarre sideshow has unfolded in Kramatorsk.

Realizing that utilizing fake UK plates AJ54 USE (which DVLA registers prove belonged to a Mitsubishi 4x4 scrapped in 2015) had become unsustainable, the operators removed the tag. However, rather than registering the vehicle legally, they attached another counterfeit plate.

In video updates published in October 2026, the same rusty white Volkswagen Transporter bearing "VPO UKRAINE" livery appeared carrying Ukrainian registration KA 6359 TO.

Cross-referencing Ukraine's Unified Vehicle Register reveals blatant fraud:

• License plate KA 6359 TO is officially registered to a grey MERCEDES-BENZ GLK 220 CDI 4MATIC (2012).
• Official color: GREY.
• Registered owner: Private individual in Kyiv.

An undocumented white commercial van was simply masked with duplicate plates belonging to a private luxury Mercedes in Kyiv. This constitutes a prima facie criminal offense under Article 290 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (tampering with, falsifying, or unlawfully using vehicle registration marks).

To enhance the drama for foreign donors, a civilian "bodyguard" was staged in recent videos: holding a ballistic helmet by hand while slinging a shotgun, he patrols a tranquil residential courtyard while local women casually collect water from communal storage tanks.

"Door to Door": Private Transport Sold as Heroic Evacuation

The purely commercial nature of these missions was laid bare in audio recordings from October 9, 2026.

While Minister Bezgin advocates structured transit processing and social support, the operators of Tkachenko's branded van were recorded negotiating a private, direct "door-to-door" transport run to Poltava! No transit hubs were involved, no notifications were sent to regional administrations, and zero permits were issued by the military command.

This is unmonitored commercial passenger carriage conducted behind parliamentary branding. Travel bookings are arranged informally by phone, passengers are carried across oblast borders in a vehicle using cloned plates, and the footage is packaged online to harvest PayPal and bank donations from international donors.

The Way Forward

The Tkachenko–Bakhtin scheme brings an urgent question to the fore: should unregulated groups operating smuggled vehicles with forged plates be permitted to handle civilian evacuations in active combat zones?

The answer is an unequivocal no.

1. Systemic Failure: If an MP permits his organization's brand to shield cloned vehicles and stonewalls the press, reform efforts will collapse against political impunity.
2. Mandatory Regulation: Amendments to Decree No. 841 will remain ineffective unless this grey zone is closed. Every volunteer vehicle operating near the frontlines must be verified within the AS HD database, cleared by the Military Law Enforcement Service (VSP), and tied directly to certified state evacuation routes.
3. Law Enforcement Action: Parliamentary status must not prevent the immediate impoundment of vehicles operating with counterfeit license plates.

The stonewalling by MP Tkachenko, the substitution of cloned plates (AJ54 USE swapped for KA 6359 TO), zero humanitarian customs filings, and private transport marketed as emergency aid have moved beyond journalistic scrutiny.

The entire evidence dossier is being submitted directly to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), NABU, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).