Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Kunitsky Declares Apartment in Canada

Oleksandr Kunitsky, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament representing the Servant of the People party, has made headlines after disclosing ownership of a new property—an apartment in Canada. According to information released by the anti-corruption movement Chesno, the parliamentarian has declared a 43 square meter residence that he has been using free of charge since October 1, 2024.

Interestingly, Kunitsky did not include this information in his 2024 declaration, raising questions about his financial transparency. It is known that the MP has not attended any sessions of the Verkhovna Rada for over a year; however, he remains an active member of parliament and is even part of the parliamentary law enforcement committee.

Information published in December 2024 by the investigative project Schemes indicates that Oleksandr Kunitsky left Ukraine on September 23, 2024, under the pretext of a business trip to the United States aimed at “deepening Ukrainian-American inter-parliamentary cooperation.” Since then, the MP has not returned to his homeland, and according to the electronic system of the Verkhovna Rada, his last participation in plenary sessions was from September 17 to 20, 2024.

In October 2024, Kunitsky participated in a meeting of the law enforcement committee via video conference. During this meeting, he informed his faction that he does not plan to return to Ukraine until the police officers who, according to him, inflicted bodily harm on him by breaking his ribs, are punished.

This incident likely refers to events in March 2022 when the police detained Kunitsky for illegally filming a checkpoint. The MP also stated that he is prepared to resign from his mandate if the situation does not change.

According to data from the Chesno movement, Oleksandr Kunitsky was elected as a member of the ninth convocation in electoral district No. 169 (Kharkiv) as an independent candidate from the Servant of the People party. He joined the party in November 2019. It is known that at the time of his candidacy, Kunitsky held Israeli citizenship in addition to his Ukrainian nationality and claimed to have served in the Israeli army, but later reportedly renounced his citizenship of that country.

The current situation surrounding Oleksandr Kunitsky has raised concerns among the public, as his prolonged absence from the Verkhovna Rada and the new declarations cast doubt on his political activity and accountability to his constituents.