Ilya Kiva: Avakov Taught Me to Think Several Moves Ahead

Interview with People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the IX convocation Ilya Kiva.

Ilya Kiva is a People's Deputy who needs no introduction. His political career is as controversial as he is: today Kiva is a member of Viktor Medvedchuk's party, previously he was an adviser to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, and earlier still he was a confidant of Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh during the 2014 presidential election. 

The politician regularly finds himself at the center of scandals. A week ago, journalists from TK Media caught the MP exchanging messages in the Verkhovna Rada with someone purporting to be Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Earlier, he was seen looking through erotic photos and a strange video clip he had been sent. Kiva himself periodically trolls journalists, and publicly asked his female fans to send him intimate photos outside working hours.

Kiva readily agrees to a meeting, stressing that he is open to communicating with any journalists, and his Facebook page even lists his personal phone number. 

“See?” Kiva says, showing the description of his Facebook page on his smartphone screen. Next to the phone number is the label “Only me,” the photographer points out to the deputy: an icon from the privacy settings indicating that no one but the People's Deputy himself can see the number. “Really?” the MP asks in surprise. “And I thought everyone could see my phone number.”

TK Media met Ilya Kiva in his office at the Verkhovna Rada committee on law enforcement policy and talked about why the People's Deputy keeps getting caught in similar scandals over correspondence in the Rada, what his relationship with Arsen Avakov is today, how he met Kolomoisky, why he joined the OPZZh party, as well as his conflict with activist Mayman and his war with former MP Artur Palatnyi.

— Today you reported that the OPZZh party office in Poltava was set on fire. What happened there?

— It's a continuation of idiotic PR campaigns. Just two f**king nationalist types from the Svoboda party who decided to take advantage of their impunity. They need to stay in the news feed by any means necessary. So they attack in idiotic ways. 

Let's be objective. The government's ratings are falling. The ratings of nationalist organizations and parties are not growing. Today the frontrunner in terms of lineup and public support, and in terms of the dynamics of public support, is the Opposition Platform — For Life. People may like it or dislike it, but that's a fact. 

[The arson of the office] is a repeat story. The first time we wanted to forgive them and chalk it up to lack of awareness. The second time we caught them and handed them over to the police. Because setting fire to an office in a residential building endangers at least the people living there. The first time they broke our windows and smeared them with paint, the second time they wanted to set us on fire, and the third time they'll start throwing grenades. 

— Do you oversee Poltava Oblast?

— At present, I am head of the Poltava city organization of OPZZh. Well, Poltava is my native homeland.

— I understand Kherson Oblast is also close to your heart.

— (Laughs) Where I served. I served in Donetsk, I served in Luhansk, I served in Kherson Oblast. Yes, Kherson Oblast, I believe, is another outpost in our country that deserves special attention and where things need to be set in order systematically.

— You also ran for the Verkhovna Rada in 2016 in Kherson Oblast. But you didn't win.

— I didn't win.

— Can you tell us more about that story?

— About how I didn't win?

— As far as I remember, your participation was an obvious backroom deal with the Petro Poroshenko Bloc. The BPP didn't field anyone then, and you...

— You almost know it all. Let me correct you a little. I entered that campaign two weeks before the elections. Two. Weeks. Before. The elections. My budget was small, in the literal sense of the word, compared to those who competed with me, for example, Odarchenko from Batkivshchyna... I remember them all. And Putilov. A rare f**king bastard, the governor of Kherson Oblast. His father was governor his whole life, and then he made his son governor. And so they had this situation where he was running for election, and his place was taken by his lawyer, Gordeev.

And why? Because when I was deputy head of Kherson Oblast, I was the one who took that f**king bastard down. We caught his people taking bribes in Zheleznyi Port. There was a whole story there, which became quite public. I said I would still “put a noose around that bastard's neck,” because I considered him a dishonest person involved in corruption.

— Gordeev is the figure in the Handziuk case, isn't he?

— Yes, Gordeev was his lawyer. He became governor after Putilov. I pinned Putilov by exposing his corrupt actions, and then they decided to play a game. Putilov was promised the district and given the opportunity to put in his lawyer, Gordeev, who today is involved in the Handziuk case. Oh, there's a very interesting situation there, I'll tell you about it, because I knew a bit about it too.

— Go ahead.

— According to all the agreements, Putilov was supposed to become a People's Deputy. But then a candidate for People's Deputy appears, two weeks out, like Kiva Ilya Volodymyrovych. An extremely inconvenient figure, because by that time people in Kherson Oblast already knew me as a principled person. 

I started a fairly aggressive election campaign... you understand, I don't look around much and I don't mince words, I call things what they are. In a week, to be honest, I would have beaten them all. Fairly. But a week before the end of the campaign, let's say, my close allies at that time asked me to give them at least a chance... Yes, you're right that it was a pure backroom deal. And I stopped the campaign. And that's true. 

And the most interesting thing is that this f**king Putilov turned out to be so incompetent that when I withdrew, he lost to Odarchenko, and that useless latent Odarchenko got into the Verkhovna Rada. To give you an idea, he won by a margin of 500 votes, while to get into the Verkhovna Rada he needed only 5,000 votes. So Putilov was sold out, Gordeev was installed, and he became head of Kherson Oblast. Odarchenko went to the Verkhovna Rada, and Kiva became an adviser to the Interior Minister. That's the whole story. The Kherson story.

— And what's this “interesting situation” with Handziuk?

— Regarding Kateryna Handziuk (long pause, ed.). It's a very controversial situation. The SBU is involved in this story. No matter what they say, it will all come out, “manuscripts don't burn.” What they are still trying to keep out of the information field and out of the investigation by law enforcement agencies, that's for now. Only recently did the regime change, and many interested parties are still in their positions.

I have stated repeatedly and will continue to state that Kateryna Handziuk, may she rest in peace, was directly overseen by Dotsenko (head of the Department for Protection of National Statehood of the SBU, ed.). He is an SBU officer who oversees nationalist groups. He supervised Right Sector at one time, then he was transferred to Kherson. There he started overseeing certain activists. That was part of the work of recruiting activists and supporting them. 

At one point I did have conflict situations with Handziuk. Well, God be with him. And SBU officers invited me too. And they told me: don't go in that direction, Ilya Volodymyrovych, you shouldn't, these are our people. And I can testify to this. I had meetings with Dotsenko. He called me on the phone. 

To make things clear, Kherson Oblast is like it's on the outskirts. I always said it's the southern outpost. And there's lawlessness there in the literal sense of the word. The most important person there today is a former MP, who at the time was even deputy chairman of the committee on law enforcement.

— Who exactly?

— Palamarchuk. Lieutenant General. All covered in medals, from head to toe. A rare f**king bastard. I've never seen a more despicable snake in uniform in my life. Why? I'll tell you why. All the poaching: Palamarchuk. Controls it and placed his own people. Logging: Palamarchuk. Procuring prostitutes: Palamarchuk. And who will say anything bad against Palamarchuk? When he's a full lieutenant general. When he's a full deputy chairman of the law enforcement committee. It's hard to fight such people. You understand, it's hard. The whole region was parasitized by this scoundrel. Do you know what's most interesting? Look, they finished, but we've only just started. And I'm the one who doesn't forgive anyone. No one. Even though I'm a Christian. Forgiving people like that means giving them the chance to do it again. 

Palamarchuk should be stripped of his epaulettes, deprived of all his ranks, and jailed for his crimes. Because the ecosystem of Kherson Oblast has been killed by this money-loving werewolf in uniform. Because of his actions, I then had to initiate the creation of a water police. That's my story, the water police. It started in Kherson. And to lead this Kherson police was the commander of the Kherson battalion, Zharkov, a principled and clean guy. 

That's why Palamarchuk then properly integrated into Klitschko's group. Klitschko, Palatnyi, Palamarchuk: that was the “Udar” party. Remember? So they sat down there, in the BPP, and got a quota of impunity. He went wild with the euphoria of impunity. That's why the fact that today they've reached his assistant Pavlovsky in the Handziuk order doesn't surprise me at all. 

Because who are his associates? Look who: Palatnyi, Artur. 

— Lately you keep mentioning Artur Palatnyi, and on your Facebook page you even declared war on him. Do you have a personal conflict?

— What personal? My conflict is that in this life he has set up so many brothels that he sold girls abroad and that he distributes drugs.

Who is Palatnyi? The former head of the youth and sports committee. The closest ally, friend, godfather and relative of our mayor of Kyiv, Klitschko. What does that let him do? Cover all of Kyiv with brothels where drugs and women are sold. How many thousands of times have I appealed to all the law enforcement authorities. They weren't satisfied with “Rio” on Bohdan Khmelnytsky Street, so they opened “Tootsie” right next to it. Brothels in our country today are the norm.

— Have you been to Artur Palatnyi's establishments?

— I'm too well brought up. 

— Do you know him personally?

— Palatnyi? Well, of course I know him. He came to me when I returned from the war and became head of the department for combating drug crime, and said: “Hi, brother.” What brother am I to you? I climbed out of a trench, and you live off a f**king vagina. Have you lost your mind? There's such a chasm between us.

For five years they didn't let me say a word. And now they've taken the muzzle off me and I'm running. Souls are broken through these brothels, because they pull you in. I figured out this system down to the millimeter. 

— There are many clubs in Kyiv: “Harem,” “Dolls.” They all operate openly.

— “Dolls,” “Harems,” f**k them, “Rio” whatever, “Tootsie.” These are all brothels. Just don't say “so what's wrong with that.” I'll tell you what's wrong. Look at the ads being shown today in a poor country: “We offer salary, training and opportunity.” People from the districts, from the provinces, who come to Kyiv, are sometimes in a hopeless situation. And young girls, 18 or 19 years old, fall for these ads. They're drawn in, they're made addicted to drugs, they're forced to work, and getting out of this circle is almost impossible.

A 19-year-old girl who died last April. A worker at the “Rio” club. They wanted to hide this fact. She worked as a prostitute, clients picked her up, she was taken to a nearby hotel, where she took drugs and her heart stopped. Why doesn't anyone investigate this whole chain? I write to the SBI, I tell them what's happening there. Artur Palatnyi is a well-known pimp. The chief pimp of our country. And all this time they've let him stay unpunished. Guys, this is the truth.

— Among the club clients there are surely high-ranking officials and heads of law enforcement agencies, including the police.

— There really are police officers, and there are also cops. And those cops are precisely the lovers of free f**kings from Artur Palatnyi. In the literal sense of the word. He sets tables for them, he brings them girls, and these are also employees of the Prosecutor General's Office. Because one hand washes the other. That's the story. And to break this backbone, Kiva alone is far too little. Yesterday they had a whole party in parliament that allowed them to place their people in key posts. Yes, their positions have weakened, but they haven't lost their influence. 

Look at the loyal dog... Viktor Chumak. Who, the bitch, grabs everything, the snake. Such a command-couch little general. And who is he? A man who never worked a day in the prosecutor's office, this grant-eater has now climbed in... Today he decides people's fates. And to defeat this whole story, even the position of my entire faction is not enough.

— It's interesting to trace your life path through key points. How did you meet Arsen Avakov?

— Kolomoisky introduced us.

 — Then let's start earlier: how did you meet Kolomoisky?

— That was in 2014. We (the Maidan people) arrived in Dnipro, about 400 of us. I was summoned to the Ihor Kolomoisky... He asks: “Are you ready to go in one direction?” I say yes, I'm ready. “Are there other people ready to go in one direction?” It turned out there were 60 of them. “Bring them here.” We arrived at the regional state administration, and Kolomoisky had Privat's armored vehicles brought in, and right in the square they were tearing off stickers. I say: where are we going? He says: “What the f**k do you care where? I said, one direction.” Every regional administration has weapons stockpiled for emergencies, I learned that later. Filatov and I broke the seals, scattered them, and loaded up. Pistols, assault rifles. Whatever we saw. We “ate our fill.” The alarm went off, Alpha arrived. We were already holding automatic rifles, the buses were already waiting: we said, guys, where are you rushing, we don't know where we're going anyway. We got in, drove out of town, into a forest belt, and started looking at what we had actually grabbed from that warehouse. Turned out we took everything. But we forgot the ammunition (laughs).

It turned out we had 600 rounds for 60 people. Later, though, the Berkut gave us 10 to 20 rounds each from their own at the checkpoints. Only later did we learn that for an attack you need at least 600 rounds. And we had 20 each.

We arrived in Krasnoarmeysk and split up. I went to the city police station, and the guys went to the square where the referendum was taking place. We blockaded the police station, hung the Ukrainian flag, because the “DPR” flag was already hanging there. And with three buses, which were empty, we drove around the city, creating the illusion of an army presence. And a day later, after the referendum took place, Turchynov gave the order to bring troops into Krasnoarmeysk. As a result, Krasnoarmeysk remained under the control of the Ukrainian authorities.

— You were associated with Dmytro Yarosh at that time. What is your relationship with Yarosh now?

— None at all. I don't quite understand his game. In the literal sense of the word. I actually split from them back then, because commerce appeared in their actions. And that's unacceptable to me, that's all.

— You returned to Dnipro and met Avakov?

— So, when I had completed the assigned task and returned to Dnipro... At that time, on the seventh floor of the regional administration were Yatsenyuk, Turchynov, and Avakov, and they were hearing reports on the situation. And for this I thank Kolomoisky. He pulled me in. And he introduced me to Avakov word for word: “This guy wants to die for the Motherland. I ask you, Arsen, give him the chance to die at least on legal grounds.” Avakov looked at me and said: do you have experience? I say: I do. And we reported on Krasnoarmeysk, what we had done, this and that. He says: come to Kyiv next week, understand? I say: understood.

I came to Kyiv, went in, and he says: what's your education? I say: two higher educations. He says: very good. Do you have a civil service rank? I say: I'm a civil servant, yes, I have one. “Which one?” The fourth. “During wartime, the fourth rank is equivalent to what military rank?” “To major.” He says: “Good, since you're going to war, you'll be a major.” Literally. How did I get a major's rank? Because I had a fourth civil service rank. 

He says: I have a battalion in Poltava, and you're from Poltava, aren't you? “Go pick it up and go fight.”

My unit in the ATO zone, and this is also true, received tanks first. Because we were the best prepared. I had people who had completed courses. We received ten tanks: five from the National Guard and five from the Armed Forces, which were positioned in the sector blocking the route to Berdiansk.

I read the history of how Mariupol was encircled, first by the Germans and then by Soviet forces. I found the same lines. The most interesting thing: I found a German map from 1943 that marked the main strongpoints. I'm not some f**king amazing military man, but I orient myself fairly well, let's say, and I try to figure things out.

I took the second history, when the Russians advanced, because the Germans were more systematic in the war. They built a system of defensive fortifications around Mariupol. I read the history: the Russian troops were heading from Donetsk toward Berdiansk, which would cut off Mariupol. And I needed to figure out where the Germans had placed their positions at that time. There weren't many of them. Anyway, I found those defensive fortifications on the map. The fortifications were on the dominant heights. The landscape, in principle, had remained the same. For two weeks I crawled around on my belly, but after two weeks I presented a plan to command: fully prepared, concreted trenches together with tank platforms. The Germans were systematic people, they built their trenches of concrete. When we climbed one, a second, a third height, we started digging like idiots. Literally. I found a complete defensive system, and what's more, with headquarters going four stories down.

Then Muzhenko flew in to see me personally. To me, a little man, Muzhenko flew in!

— And what was your status at that time?

— Commander of the volunteer battalion “Poltavshchyna,” deployed in sector “M,” which was tasked with taking a position and preventing the encirclement of Mariupol in the Berdiansk direction. We deployed there near Volnovakha. 

He flew in to see me then, they all went through everything, but all my fighters were spotless, cleaned up. I was strict. I had no drinking, nothing like that. He came and said: this is brilliant. And from that word “brilliant” my career began to rise. I was immediately pulled into the ATO headquarters, then sent to Kyiv to Muzhenko, then they created the 148th airborne assault battalion for me.

I went to see Muzhenko. “What's your rank?” I say: major. “All right, think about how to get him to a lieutenant colonel.” I'm quoting him word for word now. He says: “This story is clear to me. I assume you want to fight?” I say: yes. He says: “I see you're capable.” Me: “I'm learning.” He: “Why the f**k do you need cops?” I say: “Well, in principle, we don't need them.” He: “I have an idea to turn the 128th reconnaissance battalion into a unit, equip it, and throw it into a hot spot and make heroes of you.” I say: “That fits in general.”

He says: “Your pedigree works. Grandson of a Hero of the USSR.” Well, they needed colorful stories. I say: “Yes, all right, fine.”

— Did they know about criminal prosecution, or was it considered normal for them?

— I was clean before the law. Criminal prosecutions were a story of confrontation between me and the werewolves in uniform. That's all. 

In fact, everyone didn't give a damn. What matters is that you do your job well. Look at these bitches like Semen Semenchenko. Next to them you could be a rocket. I say: “I apologize, but I'm currently serving in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.” He says: “Look, let's do this, go to the MIA, and I'll be waiting for you here at three-thirty and we'll start on you...”.

I went to the Interior Minister, sat down in the reception area and started fidgeting. Since I had supposedly come from the front, it was clear they'd let me in without waiting in line. I came to the minister and said: “Arsen Borysovych, I apologize, but honestly, I'd really rather be fighting. Muzhenko is waiting for me at three-thirty.” “What are you holding in your hand?” I say: “A report.” “Where are you going?” “To the army.” He says: “All right, go, sit for half an hour in the reception area, I'll call you soon.”

I went into the reception area, sat down, sat in those canvas boots, glancing at the clock, because I had to be at Muzhenko's at three-thirty. He said: “Come with the report, we'll start processing you right away, there's no time.” I'm sitting in reception and they tell me: “The minister is calling you.” I go in and see Chebotar, Paskhal, and Ambroskin are sitting there. Chebotar was a terrifying kind of man. Who else was there? Oh, Antosha was there. I didn't know any of them.

And then the minister says: I want to distract you for a second, come in. I go in, and he says: “This guy... what's your last name?” “Kiva.” “This guy Kiva, Viacheslav Vasylovych, will assist you.” I look at Ambroskin, and he looks at me. And Ambroskin had just been appointed head of Donetsk Oblast.

— They presented you with a fait accompli?

And I'm standing there with the report. He says: “Comrade deputy head of Donetsk Oblast, do you have any questions?” “None.” “Well, then go carry out the task assigned to you.” And I, not understanding anything... the order had already been signed, it turns out. I leave the minister's office, and they hand me an appointment order as deputy head of Donetsk Oblast. I take that order and go to Muzhenko.

He says: “Come in, tra-ta-ta. Sit. Hungry?” “No, no, it's all fine.” Now I've loosened up, but back then those people seemed like great cosmic figures to me. And I was in all this mess. I say: I apologize. He says: give me the report! I say: this isn't a report. He: what is it, what happened?

I open it for him, and he says: “What do you mean? Are you out of your mind?” I say: “I apologize, of course, but they handed me this, they sent me. Here they sent me to hell, there they sent me to hell. Why are you putting me on this tripwire? I just want to fight. This was Avakov's move. I'm telling you sincerely. This is what the situation was like.” Then I was seconded and became deputy head of the coordination center under the ATO headquarters. That's all. That's the story.

— How did you later end up as head of the department for combating drug crime in Kyiv?

— Maidan, war, the system, and then I showed up here in Kyiv in the post of head of the department for combating drug crime. That's when I started forming my position. That was also when the Closer club was shut down. That was work. It can't be open. You sell drugs, you have to understand that you'll be a target of the system, because it's illegal. I said on principle: “You want to sell drugs and pretend nothing is happening? That doesn't happen. You want to be white and fluffy, you f**king piece of shit? It won't work.” It was an endless confrontation.

Why did I get into a dispute with [former National Police chief Khatia] Dekanoidze? Closer was my warm-up. I found out, I found it, I went after it, and we shut it down. They reopened through the courts. We closed it, they reopened through the courts. Then Leshchenko and Nayem came along, all this whole piece of crap. At that time I still didn't know how to work with the media; it was a new world for me. Then I went further. I found a story that I consider the most terrible in my country. It's the story of the sale of codeine-containing drugs. I was made into an idiot and a scarecrow, of course, when I showed on live TV how you can extract a liter and a half of desomorphine from a single blister. Nobody believed me.

I've seen so many maimed children, with rashes, deaf ones. Desomorphine is the most terrible and strongest drug in the world. And when the directors of Interchim, which is a monopolist, asked me, “What are you talking about?”, I replied that desomorphine is “krokodil,” and it's made from six pills. I gathered people, sat them down in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and two junkies cooked desomorphine there first. To show that I'm not a fool. The second time I cooked it at the Health Ministry, to show that six pills is a dose, and six pills cost 28 hryvnias. Then I did it on live TV. And what do you think? This war of mine with Interchim ended with my dismissal.

— Are you a member of Arsen Avakov's team today?

— What does “member of the team” mean? He has a whole group of people in the ministry who are oriented toward him. I consider him my mentor and friend. Do you have a friend? 

— Yes.

— Well, I have a friend too. Yes, I'm ready to defend him. We may disagree on some things. He isn't happy with my position in OPZZh, you can see that he has a more pro-European stance. 

Avakov taught me to think several moves ahead. Now I think two to four moves ahead. Before, I thought one move ahead. “Saw a bun, ate it.” And that's it. Avakov thinks eight moves ahead.

— Why OPZZh?

— The story of my position today is very simple. Today the West poses far greater dangers to our country. Choosing the lesser of two evils today, I want to say that in 2014 we were systematically sold out. Although I know Turchynov quite well and respect him, I believe Crimea was surrendered deliberately, so they could be given the chance to legalize themselves. 

I think there was a backroom deal: you calmly surrender Crimea, and we'll turn a blind eye to your coup. Russia could never allow the Crimean naval base to fall into NATO's hands, because they would lose control of the Black Sea. These are the strategic points of their security. They swallowed the coup but kept their strategic base in Crimea. 

You can play an independent game when you have enough strength. But if you don't have enough strength, then you must take into account the position of those playing next to you. Because when we turned toward the West, we had to calculate, and that is strategy, Russia's response. If you don't give a damn about that response, then stay where you are. But when we played this game, we lost Crimea and part of Donbas. That's a senseless strategy. Yes, Russia skillfully works its position: Transnistria, Abkhazia, Ukraine. They defend their border. Yes, violating our sovereignty, but we stopped playing by the rules, by the previously established agreements. And today a group of people has come in that is systematically destroying our country. And I'm completely convinced of that. 

The sale of land is the final chord. Look at the government. Leveling authority and destroying the economy. That's why I say today that we have no other path except restoring relations. This will make it possible to achieve peace and restore the economy. People are literally dying here. So the story with OPZZh is a conscious decision. 

No one is closer than Medvedchuk to the possibility of achieving peace.

— Recently there was a clash at the Mokko establishment between you and one of the activists, after which you filed a complaint with the police. And the Prosecutor General opened a criminal case against you. What's happening with that criminal case? Were you summoned for questioning?

— This is systematic work to discredit me. In fairness. Yes, I'm a fairly impulsive person. So how can they, literally, knock me down? Weaken me, knock me down. I have no property. I have no business. What can they grab me for? My one-room apartment, which I transferred to my daughter? For example, the way they went after me on “Bigus.info.” Such a terrible broadcast. For three months they followed me, and the most they found... that I had been convicted before? Well, I honestly told everyone about that myself. That I had a second disability group? Yes, I did. So what? I went and had it lifted. I'm alive and well. I was cured. By the will of our Lord. Because everything is in the hands of our Lord, Jesus Christ. That's why they tried to provoke me this way. 

— Several media outlets wrote that at that establishment you met with a criminal authority named “Belmondo.” Is that true?

— At that establishment I met with guys who had just arrived from Kirovohrad Oblast and brought me a certificate, because I helped them organize a sports club. This person, whom they call the “criminal authority Belmondo,” is Volodymyr Braichenko, head of a charitable foundation. From Dnipropetrovsk. Never convicted, never prosecuted, was an assistant to the head of the Kirovohrad Oblast council. And one more IT guy sat there, who came with them. They came to present me with the certificate.

In fact, this whole story again proceeds under the sensitive guidance of certain SBU officers of ours, who over the last five years have learned to carry out provocations. 

Mayman now has a case of shooting at Kyivhorstroi with a grenade launcher, Mayman has looting in the ATO, Mayman has trafficking in hard drugs. This is what's lying around, so they can manipulate him. He's sent in, he walks in, they arrive in cars with bodyguards, but never mind, that doesn't matter. He walks in, he provokes me. I understand perfectly well what they expect. They expect that, being a not always restrained person, I should respond to such “f**k you,” “screw you,” “faggot,” and “bastard” with what?

Respond. The SBU people quickly scrubbed the video from the servers and spread it across the internet. But a systemic error occurred. According to their plan, I was supposed to “take him out” there, and that would have made it possible to remove me from the history of our confrontations with the authorities. 

But Mayman is a weak-willed person who went and blurted it out live on air. Where neither his nose nor his face is broken. He goes to the State Bureau of Investigation, and the SBI, finding nothing clever, under the sensitive guidance of Viktor Chumak, enters into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations that I inflicted moderate bodily harm on Mayman. And this without a forensic examination, which is already a violation.

That is, there should be some fractures and loss of ability to work for 21 days, established by forensic examination, in violation of all laws. But they're idiots. They move according to a pre-written template. There was a template for discrediting. They're following it. Mayman was supposed to create a conflict, Kiva was supposed to beat him up, Mayman was supposed to end up in hospital, and a criminal case would have been opened.

They did everything exactly as planned, except Kiva didn't beat him up. And they have no forensic examination report. They can't figure out how to fabricate it today. So all the witness statements they collected say the opposite: that Mayman came in, started provoking, said nasty things, and ultimately struck a People's Deputy. And that, by the way, is an article. And Mayman knows it.

And do you know what Mayman knows? Mayman knows that when he ends up in pre-trial detention, his tongue will loosen there, and then we'll learn about the Artur Palatnyi part of this story. We'll learn about certain SBU officers. And in this story we'll learn about Viktor Chumak, who in fact cooked all this up. The truth is always one, and Mayman won't stay silent. Guys, you bet on the wrong horse, you f**king. Mayman is such a dirty whore that he'll sell you out ten times faster. Because he needs drugs, because he's afraid of hardships. That's the story.

They're certainly furious there today. They're trying to hold press conferences, accusing me of some outrageous sins, but here I am, and I'm ready to bear any responsibility and give testimony. That I'm inconvenient to Palatnyi, yes. That I'm undermining his future campaign as Klitschko's ally, yes. Why? Because, excuse me, what kind of godfather is it who allows brothels to flourish in our country. In our capital. Do Kyivans want a capital like that? I don't. I'll vote against it. Why? Because my life has been ruined enough. Guys, that's the story. It's too complicated.

Does Palamarchuk want to go to prison? No. And he'll have to go. Will he do everything to avoid it? He will. That's why I sent my children away. Because the only weak point was the children. Those damned scum who won't stop at anything. I sent my children abroad, my hands are untied, so I will strangle these vermin. Yes, within the law, don't worry. But I will strangle them. And it wasn't me who was struck, I let myself be struck. So that one piece of scum like Mayman becomes fewer. Because for me, my dear ones, Mayman is a valuable witness, who once in pre-trial detention will tell about those who, when, and whom he. Because achieving the truth and punishing the guilty is the main story of my life.

— The video shows that you were the first to approach the activist and wanted to head-butt him.

— That was a deliberate action. When you're publicly insulted in front of the whole establishment, in front of your acquaintances, that's done by a person with a clear goal, right? I know him, he's a coward. When he suddenly allows himself to shout at Kiva himself: “faggot, faggot, faggot, I'll screw your son.” I apologize, I told him: my son is seven years old. “Then I'll f**k him in the mouth.” Any normal man would react to that. Right?

And it's all in the witness statements. So of course I stood up, went over to him, and leaned in sharply. And since he, the bastard, was tense from his fear, he went and slapped me in the face. And this fact is recorded, first of all by the forensic examination. Because in this case I broke them. That's it.

 And then there's the letter of the law. And, as it were, for inflicting minor bodily harm on a People's Deputy, the penalty is three to seven years of imprisonment. And while Mayman is under the control of the law enforcement system, we'll show during this time those stories where Mayman killed, raped, robbed, and trafficked drugs. 

There's a crime. There are criminals who fear punishment. This whole situation is their desire to avoid that punishment. But. And who said the process of finding the truth is easy? No, it isn't easy. That's why our life is a struggle. I was born in struggle.

— Many people noticed that your companions at the establishment didn't react to the situation at all and kept calmly eating their salad. 

— You know, that's probably restraint. All the people who are with me are quite disciplined. I understand who you mean, a man was sitting there calmly eating his little salad. What was he supposed to do at that moment?

— Do you know Vladimir Zhirinovsky?

— No.

— Have you ever communicated with him?

— It was once on TV, I think on “60 Minutes.” It's on the internet, where he tried to say something to me, and I countered his arguments about Ukraine and the situation that has developed in our country in general.

— In 2017 you gave a comment to “Strana,” where you talked about how you sent Vladimir Zhirinovsky a T-shirt. 

— (Laughs). That was another hype. And then, did you see the photo parody? The original photo was found, where he's with Trump. And this [T-shirt with Kiva] was a photo parody.

— After the correspondence was published, you gave several comments to the media, and your position changed.

— It didn't change, it was clarified. Listen, honestly. Did you fall for it?

— Of course.

— And I played along.

— Let's take your first two comments to the media. One was Pavlovsky, and the other was a girl from Radio Liberty. As I understand it, you learned about the publication of the correspondence from journalist Pavlovsky, which is visible in the video recording. 

— My friend. I learned about the correspondence at the moment you hung over me with a camera. I went to a spot convenient for you, where it would be very easy for you to film me. Because I know where you are, this isn't the first time for us. To say that I can't think logically is to say nothing. You were hanging off a balcony and hunting. I walked up, took my place, opened my phone, and quickly rewrote my friend's contact as “Zhirik Volodymyr.” I showed you the phone, then this idiot prime minister came along and wrote a scandalous message...

You know what hurts me? Sometimes I do what I think are such cool things, and society somehow doesn't appreciate them. I have a long-standing conflict there with Petro Oleksiyovych, with Poroshenko. Ever since Debaltseve. Now you'll be number one, cool, cool. Like with Zhirinovsky, for example. Look, guys. Do you remember the story “Poroshenko is an asshole, Donbas rules”? 

Everyone said: Kiva, the scoundrel, attacked a woman, a saleswoman. Tell me, do you know even one person in our country who managed to publicly repeat “Poroshenko is an asshole, Donbas rules” through the media some 500 times? 

Because it spread through all the media. All the channels showed it. “Poroshenko is an asshole.” Yes, I was indulging my ego, because I consider him a scoundrel. And where else could I publicly call Poroshenko an asshole? Cool? Cool. That's about the whole well-known story. So here sits a man toward whom I have an extremely negative attitude. Not as a person. As the prime minister of our country. Because I consider him truly an idiot. Or an amateur, as he calls himself. I consider him an evil who is ready, without thinking, to carry out any will of his masters.

— Thanks to the correspondence, everyone saw your opinion about Honcharuk?

— Yes, everyone read what I wrote. About whom? Tell me, is it really wrong for me to write this to a friend? “The prime minister has arrived.”  You can talk about anything with a friend. I wrote “The faggot has arrived,” because I consider him one and he is one. A faggot government, they screwed up our country, and that was a message to our people, who read this message. And you help me spread these messages. But for you to print it, I had to write “Zhirik Volodymyr Volf” in the headline. The rest you made up yourselves. My dear guys, for some reason you decided that “Zhirik Volodymyr Volf” is Zhirinovsky. 

I gave you the message that suits you. Because you grew on this story no less than I needed it. Why? Because you were the foundation, you became the primary source. Of course, you boost my popularity. I boost the ratings of your site. You hunt me, and I let you hunt me. It's all very simple. Do you understand how? Because your hunt suits me. Because if you didn't exist, I would have had to invent you. Literally.

But. What is our position together? Because any other story is uninteresting to you, because it's dull. Right? People react to bright stories in our country. What bright stories are there in our country? Boobs, butts... What else do we have? Zhirinovsky. That went down easy. So I came out and calmly said: yes, and what's so terrible about that? Even if I had corresponded with him, is that a crime? I developed this story.

— At the time you told journalists that you are ready to communicate with parliamentarians from different countries. 

— I am ready.  

— You said you communicate with some State Duma deputies on the topic of the Donbas conflict. With whom?

Let's move away now from the hype, from the semi-joking presentation of your interview for better readability. I want to say: this is my “Ukrainian-patriotic position,” that we need to seek compromise and restore dialogue. I speak as a soldier, as a person who knows about war firsthand. My opinion: we are obliged. I am ready to literally step over myself and enter into dialogue that will make it possible to resolve the issues that have been destroying people's lives for six years. I have seen so much death in my life, so maybe that's why I fight so hard for life. 

Volodymyr Koval