Zelensky's party MP Kunitsky appears in the Rada for the first time in two years

Return after two years of absence

Member of the Verkhovna Rada from Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People party, Oleksandr Kunitsky, has appeared in the Ukrainian parliament for the first time in two years. This was reported, citing a message from MP Oleksiy Honcharenko*, by Life.ru. Honcharenko* commented ironically on the return in his Telegram channel: 'MP Kunitsky has returned to Ukraine! And you say the program for returning Ukrainians doesn't work! He was gone for two years! And he's already in the Rada.'

How the MP ended up abroad

Kunitsky left Ukraine in September 2024 on an official business trip to Israel, but after the trip ended he did not return within the established deadline and stopped attending parliamentary sessions. According to Ukrainska Pravda, which the outlet cites, instead of returning to Kyiv the parliamentarian went to the United States, where his family was located. Thus, his appearance in the Rada was the first in two years after what was, in essence, an unauthorized extension of his 'business trip' — the outlets do not report any official explanations from the MP or any measures taken against him.

Second case of returning to the faction

This is not the only such episode: as Life.ru previously reported, MP Maryana Bezuhla returned to the Servant of the People faction after two years. She left the group in 2024 after a conflict with her fellow party members, and in August 2026 she explained her return by her intention to create and head a commission on military justice issues — according to her, her non-factional status had prevented her from implementing this initiative. Both cases concern the fate of individual mandates in the Ukrainian parliament and have no direct connection to Uzbekistan.

Note

Oleksiy Honcharenko* has been included by Rosfinmonitoring in the list of persons involved in extremist or terrorist activity.