People’s Deputy Kunitsky returned to the Verkhovna Rada after more than two years of absence

People’s Deputy from the “Servant of the People” faction Oleksandr Kunytskyi, who left Ukraine on a business trip in September 2024 and did not return after its completion, reappeared in the Verkhovna Rada. On November 9, 2026, the parliamentarian took part in the vote for the first time in over two years.

Information about Kunytskyi’s return was made public by People’s Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko. It was also confirmed by the representative of the “Servant of the People” faction Olha Vasylevska-Smaglyuk.

Kunytskyi himself published a video from the parliament building and session hall on social networks.

Kunytskyi voted in the Rada for the first time in two years

According to the “Chesno” movement, on November 9, the people’s deputy took part in the parliamentary vote, supporting the draft resolution No. 15220.

Prior to this, during one of the votes on the official website of the Verkhovna Rada, the status “did not vote” was indicated opposite his name. This indicated that the deputy was registered in the system without direct voting.

According to media reports, Kunytskyi could have returned to Ukraine from Canada last weekend. There is no official confirmation of his return route in the above reports.

Why did the deputy stay abroad for more than two years

Olyaksandr Kunytskyi left Ukraine on September 23, 2024. Then he went on a business trip to the USA, the purpose of which was to deepen Ukrainian-American interparliamentary cooperation.

However, after the end of the trip, the deputy did not return to Ukraine.

According to media reports, the parliamentarian first went to Israel, and later to his family in the USA.

At that time, Kunytskyi allegedly informed his colleagues that he did not plan to return until the law enforcement officers who, according to him, caused him bodily harm were brought to justice.

Presumably, this was an incident in March 2022, when the deputy was detained for removing a roadblock. After that, Kunytskyi claimed that the police broke his ribs.

Previously, the parliamentarian also publicly admitted the possibility of resigning his parliamentary mandate.

It is currently unknown whether Kunytskyi has provided official explanations for his long absence from parliament and whether the issue of his responsibility for not returning from a business trip will be considered.