Ukrainian consultant Oleksiy Arestovych left office after causing widespread anger within the administration Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he suggested that a Russian missile that killed dozens of civilians was shot down by Ukraine.
• Also read: Ukrainian rescuers stop searching in Dnipro
• Also read: Ukraine: Dnipro bombing death toll rises to 40, Kremlin denies responsibility
• Also read: Ukraine: NATO announces more heavy weapons, carnage in Dnipro
On a YouTube channel where he frequently appears, Arestovych commented on the event hours after the Dnipro attack, announcing that the Russian missile exploded only after it was shot down by Ukrainian air defense forces.
Screenshot source Facebook page Oleksiy Arestovych / Олексій Арестович
“The missile was launched, it fell on the driveway, it exploded as it fell,” he said in an interview on the YouTube channel Feigin Live.
More than 40 people were killed and 39 are missing after a Russian X-22 anti-ship ballistic missile hit a building in the southern city of Dnipro.
Hundreds of members of Ukraine’s civil society and prominent public figures wrote in unison on social media in the days that followed, urging the presidential administration to sack Arestovych over unverified testimony.
They also mentioned that these comments helped Russian propaganda, which often blames the attacks on Ukrainian forces.
Subsequently, the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces said in a statement that they currently lack the technological capabilities to detect or shoot down ballistic missiles.
Arestovych refused to apologize for two days, blaming fatigue and saying it was “a theory” put forward by a friend who happened to be near the stage.
Then Arestovych posted a photo of his resignation letter to Facebook on Tuesday, explaining that it was “an example of civilized behavior” given his “fundamental error”. A spokesman for Zelenskyi confirmed that the resignation had been accepted.
A man followed and watched
Oleksiy Arestovych, a former actor, journalist and politician, was appointed independent non-employee adviser to the Presidential Administration in 2020.
In the first weeks of the Russian invasion, Arestovych was one of the most watched figures and sources of information in Ukraine. At the time, he was producing upbeat content on the internet to comfort a then-distressed Ukrainian society.
However, over time, his popularity and credibility in public opinion had declined. Far fewer people wanted to hear his predictions and believed them. He had even falsely claimed early in the war that it would only last 2 to 3 weeks, which angered his critics.
Zelenskyi’s presidency has always remained wary of Arestovych, often distancing himself from him, but also acknowledging his audience and “admirers”.
In August, chief adviser Mykhailo Podalyak said he was not a staff member because “he talks so much that we made him adviser to the whole bureau.”