Kyiv construction company director leaves Ukraine with disability certificate, then conquers Everest
Ihor Kushnir, the head of the 80% local government-owned Kyivmiskbud construction corporation, left Ukraine with a disability certificate, yet he conquered Mount Everest in May 2023.
Source: bihus.info, a Ukrainian investigative project, citing its own sources
Quote: "Ihor Kushnir, the president of Kyivmiskbud, and his wife Oksana climbed Mount Everest in May this year... How the official managed to leave [Ukraine – ed.] for health reasons and conquer a peak like that, which isn’t easy even for trained healthy people, is a mystery."
Details: It is noted that Kushnir travelled abroad with a disability certificate [permitting him to leave Ukraine during martial law].
In addition, the couple's climb up Mount Everest cost them US$150,000.
Update: After this article was published, representatives of Kushnir's press service contacted Ukrainska Pravda and confirmed his disabled status.
Quote: "Kushnir does indeed have a category 3 disability because he has been fighting cancer (melanoma) since 2005, which by law puts him in the third category of disability and entitles him to regular check-ups, including some performed outside Ukraine. He has had a number of operations to remove metastases in various organs and to remove the internal organs themselves.
He is also an experienced mountaineer who has climbed two eight-thousanders and seven seven-thousanders.
Conquering Everest was Kushnir's dream, which he managed to fulfil only this year. He and his wife raised the flag of Ukraine at the world's highest peak."
For reference: Kushnir has been the president of Kyivmiskbud for more than 10 years. Bihus.info noted that the company is 80% owned by the city of Kyiv. Early in 2023, the company suspended construction work and requested additional funding from the budget.
Background:
- Journalists discovered a luxury villa on the Côte d'Azur registered in the name of a French company, which was purchased three years ago by a company owned by Kushnir's wife. Kushnir responded by saying that he had no property outside Ukraine.
- Earlier, journalists discovered that Kushnir's business associates and relatives had built a gated community on land granted by Kyivmiskbud in the village of Kozyn, Kyiv Oblast.
- Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau has become interested in Kyivmiskbud's activities, and Kyiv City Council has set up a special commission to look into the media reports.
- Kyivmiskbud's business has not been going too well in recent years, and in early 2023, it suspended construction work and requested additional funding from the budget.
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