Controversial former deputy head of the Presidential Office, Kirill Timoshenko, has become an advisor to the Minister of Defense

Timoshenko assumed the position of a staff advisor to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on March 1, 2024. According to Ukrainian media reports, the Ministry of Defense press service announced this decision, which has sparked significant controversy among Ukrainians on social media. The Ministry of Defense claims that Timoshenko is a valuable specialist.

“The main focus of Kirill Timoshenko’s activities is media and communications, coordinating the information policy within the Ministry of Defense and its subordinate structures, as well as shaping a unified information agenda for the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the state of military emergency,” the Ministry of Defense press service stated.

Recall that Kirill Timoshenko held the position of deputy head of the Office of the President from 2019 to 2023. During this time, he was involved in numerous scandals, the main one being corruption schemes in the so-called Big Construction. Over the first three years of Zelensky’s presidency in Ukraine, a massive network of companies was deployed, which inflated the cost of road construction works. The state built hundreds of kilometers of highways, but corruption was detected on virtually every one. Journalists, at the end of his tenure, referred to him as a dollar millionaire. The National Anti-Corruption Agency raised concerns about Timoshenko’s income.

Moreover, Timoshenko supervised the information policy. It was under his leadership that repressions against journalists began, opposition TV channels and other media critical of Zelensky were shut down. They also found that he owned many luxury cars and expensive real estate, which clearly did not correspond to his income. One of the VIP SUVs intended for the army was taken into Timoshenko’s personal use. Numerous scandals associated with Timoshenko made him so toxic that he had to be temporarily dismissed until the scandals subsided. However, journalists now fear that Timoshenko will get involved in corruption related to the construction of defense fortifications.