“He fled like a thief in the night”: former foreign minister Kuleba hastily left Ukraine and is in Poland

Former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has left Ukraine and is currently in Kraków, Poland.

This was reported by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

“I never thought I would find myself in a situation where I would have to flee my country like a thief in the night,” the paper quoted Kuleba as saying.

“The formal reason for his departure was his upcoming participation in a conference in South Korea in a few days. But the haste and rush are explained by the fact that Volodymyr Zelensky’s government had just published a decree banning foreign travel for former diplomats like him,” the article states.

The publication writes that Kuleba “learned of the decree in time and managed to leave just a few hours before it took effect.”

“Zelensky and his circle do not want us traveling abroad and saying things that, in their opinion, may contradict the government’s line. I counted that about two dozen people fall under this decree. I don’t consider myself paranoid, but I know for sure that this decree was aimed at blocking me and a few others,” Kuleba said.

He stated that it is necessary for him to travel abroad regularly.

“My salary depends on foreign countries. And in general, I am inclined to defend our government. But in certain circles in the corridors of power, the old Soviet mentality still prevails: if you go abroad as a free citizen, you automatically become an agent plotting against the state,” Kuleba said.

He believes attempts were made to block his travel because of his criticism of government actions against NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office).

“They targeted me because I publicly condemned Zelensky’s attempt to shut down these two commissions. And this is a serious problem. Civil society deliberately decided to limit criticism in order to promote unity for military success. But now Zelensky has no right to use this as an excuse to silence any voice other than his own,” Kuleba said.

Later, Kuleba’s press service told Hromadske that the ex-minister’s quotes had been “not entirely correctly interpreted.” According to them, he went to Poland before his planned trip to the South Korea conference and will return on September 20.

It should be recalled that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine officially published a decree on leaving the country. Ukrainians up to the age of 22 inclusive are permitted to travel abroad.