What does the police say and why are journalists skeptical of their statements?
They scattered dollar bills on the road, blocked traffic in the city center to smoke, stomped on the Ukrainian flag, and showcased weapons: the scandal involving underage wealthy youths that erupted days ago in Kyiv continues to make headlines.
Provocative videos and photos shared by a group of teenagers on social media caught the attention of Kyiv public pages on January 10. In one video, the participants are seen driving through the city center with police cars escorting them; in another, they are smoking on the road after exiting their car amid a traffic jam near the "Gulliver" shopping center. Another video was recorded near the National Memorial to the Heavenly Hundred on Independence Square, set to the track "I am Russian" by Shaman. The young men also posted photos and videos of themselves posing with firearms and tossing dollar bills out of the car window.
7 Following the public outcry, law enforcement agencies began investigating the incident. What is known about the state of the investigation is reported by Kashtan NEWS.
Not wealthy youths?
As reported by National Police spokesperson Yulia Hirdvilis during a National Telethon on January 13, during searches of the suspects, a paintball grenade, ammunition, and two pistols were seized.
“One is a traumatic firearm, registered to one of the parents of the minor. The other is pneumatic, which does not require a permit,” Hirdvilis clarified.
8 She denied that the teenagers were using police escort. According to her, they were simply following the police vehicles with lights on to create such an impression. Regarding the traffic blockage near "Gulliver," police believe it was just a regular traffic jam that formed spontaneously. Meanwhile, the teenagers allegedly did not drive themselves but used hired drivers with cars rented from a Kyiv company.
Moreover, Hirdvilis stated that the information suggesting that the scandal’s participants are “golden youth” is largely inaccurate: only one of the young men has a father who is a former official now retired.
“The rest of the parents are employees of private businesses, educational institutions, or civil servants. There are no significant assets or any information suggesting that they are wealthy youths – this does not find its confirmation,” Hirdvilis asserted.
“Golden” kids
This information from the National Police spokesperson raised reasonable doubts among journalists and the public. If the luxury cars and lavish lifestyle that the teenagers display in the videos do not indicate “significant wealth,” then a question arises: what does the police consider to be real wealth? Even if the teenagers aged 14-17 actually rented cars for their videos, the rental along with the services of a driver also costs money.
9 However, it seems that the teenagers' parents are not as simple as they appear and can afford such entertainment for their children. As journalists from Bihus.Info discovered, one of the participants in the video is Mykola Tsymidan – the son of an agribusinessman and former mayor of Lyman, Petro Tsymidan, who was suspected of having links with separatists during the city’s takeover in 2014. On social media, Mykola boasted about spending between 7,000 to 14,000 hryvnias daily.
0 Another participant, Anton Yutkin, is the son of the owner of the famous Lviv hotel BANK Hotel, Vyacheslav Yutkin. In 2023, the elder Yutkin found himself on the sanctions list of the National Security and Defense Council due to his connections with Russia.
Another member of the group, 16-year-old Andrii Dragan, had previously been involved in similar scandals. In June last year, he was detained by the SBU for allegedly posting videos on social media where, accompanied by Russian music, Dragan insulted the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Later, the boy claimed that he had supposedly recorded this video before the war and was now ready to publicly apologize for it.
1 On social media, Dragan emphasizes his elite lifestyle – Rolex watch, expensive cars, a private driver, and security. The media have also linked the minor blogger to MP Mykola Tyshchenko, claiming that Dragan was employed at illegal call centers and then filed complaints with the police. Dragan himself denies these connections.
2 “I have no relation to Mykola Mykolayovych. I helped Andrii Dymitruk and others; I filed complaints with the head of the SBU regarding the so-called fraudulent offices and bot farms that work in favor of the aggressor state today. Yes, I published data about these offices and filed complaints with the SBU,” Dragan stated in a comment to “Telegraph” after his detention.
Additionally, journalists have reported that Mykhailo Isayenko appears in the scandalous videos: he previously posted photos on social media showing him stepping on the Ukrainian flag. Mykhailo is believed to be the son of the banned OPZZh MP Dmytro Isayenko, although the MP denies this information on social media, claiming he has no sons at all.
Crime without punishment
As reported by the National Police, after examining the video of the stomping on the flag, investigators opened a criminal case under Article 338 of the Criminal Code (desecration of state symbols). The weapons found with the teenagers also led to another case – this time under part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code (illegal possession or carrying of firearms and ammunition).
“In addition, regarding all the minors, the police have sent requests to guardianship and educational institutions, as well as to the child protection services, to check the conditions under which the teenagers are being raised. Administrative protocols were drawn up against the parents of four of them for 184 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (failure of parents or guardians to fulfill their responsibilities regarding the upbringing of children),” the message on the official Telegram channel of the capital's police stated on January 14.
However, whether the participants in the scandal will face punishment more severe than a mere “naughty-naughty” from their parents remains uncertain. Ukraine has a grim track record regarding the resolution of similar incidents: after public outrage subsides, it often turns out that the subjects have faced only a slight scare and continue their usual lifestyle.
Kashtan NEWS investigated the history of two similar cases that recently “exploded” in the Ukrainian information space.
“Drunken parties”
In January 2025, it will be two years since the scandal involving the organizers of the so-called “drunken parties.” A group of young men who called themselves “cryptans from Franyk” held loud parties in Kyiv, where they intoxicated girls with alcohol and psychotropic substances, then humiliated and raped them. The boys posted videos of the events on social media to “show the world the whores.”
3 On February 1, 2023, the police conducted searches at the rapists' residences in Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk, six party participants were summoned to military enlistment offices, and three were detained and placed in pre-trial detention.
On March 30, two of the “drunken party” organizers were released on bail after each posting 402,000 hryvnias. One of them, Yaroslav Dombrovskyi, was charged with distributing pornography, while the other, Oleg Zakharov, faced sexual violence charges. In October, Zakharov celebrated a lavish wedding at Edem Resort Medical & Spa – one of the most expensive hotels in Ukraine. At the wedding, the groom and guests danced to Russian rap, tossing dollar bills on the stage. The host of this “celebration of life” was the well-known showman Yuriy Tkach, who later claimed that he was unaware of his client’s scandalous past.
In May 2024, the Holosiivskyi Court released a third co-organizer, Andrii Yaryna, on bail, who was accused under part 3 of Article 153 and part 3 of Article 301 of the Criminal Code (sexual violence committed by a group of individuals or sexual violence against a minor and the production and distribution of pornography by prior agreement of a group of individuals). The amount of bail was set at 272,500 hryvnias.
Once free, Yaryna immediately provoked a new scandal by posting a TikTok where he asked girls on the streets of Ivano-Frankivsk how they felt about his criminal case.
“I’m sorry that you’re not free now,” one of those interviewed replied.
Wealthy youth behind the wheel?