Lovochkin’s ex-wife says he threatens her and interferes with her current partner’s military service (updated)

Former civil partner of ex-Presidential Administration head Serhii Lovochkin, artist Zinaida Kubar (formerly Likhachova), has alleged that he is harassing and threatening her and that he is behind the sudden transfer of her partner, a Ukrainian serviceman, to another unit.

As reported by Censor.NET, Kubar wrote about this on her Facebook page.

"It pains me to write this, but I have grounds to state publicly: decisions regarding the service assignment of the serviceman I am in a relationship with are being made under the influence of Serhii Lovochkin, former head of the Presidential Administration during Yanukovych’s era. Formally, by order of State Border Guard Service chief Serhii Deineko. And I am certain of what I am saying," she wrote.

Context of the situation

To explain the situation, she noted that she had to "reveal the context."

"It’s no secret that I spent many years with Serhii Lovochkin, and we have children together. My relationship with him was one big mistake, but life is made of such mistakes. We have long gone our separate ways, and the path I follow today is defined by work with the military, veterans, volunteering, and art projects supporting those defending Ukraine. This includes my project Art Rehub, launched in 2015," Kubar said.

Lovochkin sent me threatening messages

She added that she repeatedly received threats from Lovochkin.

"Serhii did not understand or accept that I am not his property. For a long time, I received threatening, demeaning messages from Lovochkin, with direct hints that my partner could be ‘punished through service’, which is exactly what happened. He threatened me, threatened my partner, and even arranged surveillance on me. Perhaps I hurt his male ego. I don’t know. I blocked his messages because I didn’t want to make this public. But there is a line beyond which silence becomes dangerous," she wrote.

"The transfer order came from the very top"

According to her, Lovochkin threatened that her partner would face serious problems in service and even described what kind.

"I didn’t believe it, I thought these weren’t the times for such things. But it turned out I was wrong. My partner, a serviceman, was abruptly transferred to another unit without his presence or request. The decision was made in the shadows, without explanation. The order came ‘from the very top.’ His commanders were shocked. This is absolutely not a coincidence, my partner had no plans to transfer, and his commanders were satisfied with his work. Such decisions do not simply fall from above. It is an honour for my partner to defend Ukraine. He is not afraid of challenges. And this post is not about his place of service, it is about the mere fact that a marginal pro-Russian politician can still influence decisions within Ukraine’s Defence Forces," Kubar stressed.

She said she wants answers to questions such as:

Who influences personnel decisions in the State Border Guard Service?
Is interference by politicians linked to former pro-Russian regimes tolerated?
Who is using their levers of power to intrude into a person’s private life?

"I know this post will spark a wave of criticism. But my personal life is not the topic here. The topic is protecting the rights of servicemen. Those defending Ukraine have an absolute right to be free from dirty, corrupt interference — from a system where some people are willing to hand out bribes to generals to control the fate of living people! For public awareness," Lovochkin’s former partner stated.

Lovochkin issues statement

In turn, MP Serhiy Lovochkin’s press service insists that the statement by his former civil partner Zinaida Kubar about threats, harassment and his alleged influence on her partner’s military service is not true.

"The information contained in Zinaida Kubar’s statement is not true. We regret to say that Zinaida has long been in a severe psychological condition, which unfortunately now also has public manifestations," Lovochkin’s representatives told Ukrainska Pravda.

In response to Lovochkin’s statement, Kubar said: "No surprise… Yes, I am indeed under pressure from him, which is why I am upset, but if there are any doubts, I am ready to undergo an examination."

State Border Guard Service’s comment

In response to a request from Censor.NET, Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, commented on the accusations by Lovochkin’s former partner that the MP was behind the transfer of her partner, a serviceman, to another unit.

"Service in the units of the agency is regulated by legislation, including the Regulations on the Procedure for Ukrainian Citizens to Perform Military Service in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine," Demchenko said.

He noted that any serviceman can be reassigned to different areas or appointed to positions in other units, depending on the need to ensure the agency’s tasks. According to him, this happens on a daily basis.

"As for this particular serviceman, he was appointed to another position within the units of the same border detachment, and this was due to service necessity. Moreover, this is the decision of the commander of the border detachment. I can assure you that everything else being written, in particular about some alleged influence on the leadership of the agency, does not correspond to reality," Demchenko stated.