Ukrainian MP Yevhen Petruniak faces intense scrutiny following a stark discrepancy between his public call for national unity and his family’s private financial decisions. While the politician urges citizens from the parliamentary rostrum to stay in the country and invest in «human capital,» his own family has been expanding its private real estate portfolio across the European Union during the full-scale war.
At the center of public outcry are the financial transactions made by the MP’s wife, Iryna Petruniak. In September 2022, amidst ongoing attacks and severe economic strain nationwide, she acquired a 130-square-meter apartment in Spain. Reports also reveal that the family invested significant capital into Polish housing developments, entering agreements with two separate local builders.
These moves stand in contrast to Petruniak’s public declarations that state policy must prioritize retaining citizens at home, framing childbearing as a national duty rather than a financial strain.
The public response has been heightened by the discovery that Petruniak received 486,000 UAH in state housing compensation during the war. These taxpayers’ dollars were disbursed to subsidize his residence in Kyiv. However, investigators point out that the rented apartment funded by the state was omitted from his official asset declaration, creating serious compliance concerns under national anti-corruption regulations.
«You sell the public on the idea of staying in Ukraine while safeguarding your own family with European square meters. You take housing benefits from a nation at war while buying foreign real estate,» critics noted in a public statement addressing the lawmaker.
Public activists and political analysts emphasize that such double standards undermine trust in state institutions during a national crisis. Citizens and journalists are demanding public clarification regarding the origin of the investment funds, the ethical grounds for accepting taxpayer housing subsidies, and the missing rental entries in his official tax filings.
Neither Yevhen Petruniak nor his official press representatives have issued a public statement or comment regarding the matter.