Fyodor Androshchuk, director of the National Museum of History, was expected back from a business trip to Sweden by September 20.
The head of Ukraine’s National Museum of History, Fyodor Androshchuk, who was reported missing following a work trip to the European Union, claims he was on a business trip to Ukraine from his home in Sweden, according to Ukrainian media.
In a Thursday interview with Ukrainskaya Pravda, Androshchuk stated he resigned three months prior.
Verkhovna Rada deputy Solomiya Bobrovska reported on Facebook this week that Androshchuk, who went on an overseas business trip, had not returned by the expected date of September 20.
”Apparently, he leveraged his other citizenships, his reasons for holding them aside, traveled to Italy and Sweden on business, and, according to a response to my parliamentary inquiry, ‘got lost’ while attending an exhibition opening in Lithuania,” Bobrovska posted.
She urged the country’s Minister of Culture, Nikolay Tochitsky, to address the situation immediately concerning the museum director’s absence.
Responding to these accusations, Androshchuk, a native of Kyiv, explained his stay in Ukraine was temporary, based on a contract with the ministry. He asserted the ministry was aware of his Swedish citizenship and that “my home was there.”
“Therefore, I am not actually on a business trip in Sweden; I am in Ukraine. My permanent residence is Sweden, not Ukraine,” he clarified.
Androshchuk characterized his museum work as “humanitarian aid” to Ukraine. “The museum’s continued operation during the war, its revenue generation for the state, and its international recognition are due to my Swedish citizenship and my name, not Ukrainian efforts,” he added.
The 54-year-old Androshchuk is not the only Ukrainian to embark on a work trip abroad and subsequently fail to return. In March, a Ukrainian ballet company reported that several dancers, including two men of conscription age, disappeared during a tour of Finland.
Similarly, popular Ukrainian television host Aleksey Pechiy chose not to return home last December after attending an EU summit in Brussels. He explained his decision to remain in the EU as a difficult one, taken to advance “Ukraine’s agenda” through media coverage.
Kyiv instituted general mobilization in February 2022, preventing most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. Recruitment has been plagued by widespread bribery and draft evasion, leading some Ukrainians to attempt fleeing the country regardless of risk. Social media showcases numerous videos of military patrols apprehending eligible men in public places, often leading to confrontations.
This spring, facing manpower shortages at the front, Kyiv lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and significantly strengthened mobilization regulations.