"A secret diplomatic special operation has failed": Tishchenko tried to justify his trip to Thailand at the height of the war and faced more criticism

The controversial Member of Parliament Mykola Tyshchenko, who was expelled from the Servant of the People faction, explained his trip to Thailand on social media as a necessity to "fulfil the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelenskyi". He also mentioned the "interests of our country".

Last night, the deputy published a Facebook post in which he accused journalists of spreading false information about his trip to Thailand. He also claims that he is holding talks there "on the orders of his superiors".

Read also: Tyshchenko caught in a scandal with leaky bulletproof vests (video)

"Well, dear journalists. I hate to admit it, but today you really screwed up. In the race of "whose fake is better" and "how to slander Tyshchenko", you forgot the main thing - that in this way you simply discredit our country in front of our Vietnamese and Thai partners, with whom I have been negotiating for 2 weeks on the orders of the top leadership. By your actions, you have now undermined the confidence of our potential partners in Ukraine," the politician said.

He argues that Vietnam and Thailand are "dominated by the Russian agenda" and that Thailand believes that there is an "internecine war" in Ukraine. In this context, the MP argues that "the facts of Russian influence in Asia, first of all, put pressure on Ukrainian citizens living here". "I emphasise that I represent the interests of Ukraine here. So by your actions, you are not disgracing Mykola Tyshchenko, but your country. So the independent media are happy," the deputy said.

Tyshchenko added: "not a single media outlet has ANY evidence of my so-called 'holiday'. At all". "I emphasise once again that I am on this business trip by order of my superiors. I have all the relevant permits for this, including a signed document from the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Stefanchuk claimed that he did not sign any documents regarding Tyshchenko's business trip)," the deputy continued.

Tyshchenko also said that "I crossed the border on 10.01" - long before the NSDC's decision to ban travel abroad (on 23 January, the President said that the NSDC had decided on the procedure for officials, law enforcement and other officials to travel abroad during the war).

"However, I will continue to do what I came here to do. My priorities remain unchanged - the implementation of the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the interests of our country," the deputy summed up. 

However, the deputy's followers did not appreciate his excuses. 

Last week, the Ukrainian Embassy in Thailand posted on Facebook about the possibility of meeting with Member of Parliament Mykola Tyshchenko at a hotel in Thailand. Ukrainians reacted strongly to the MP's trip abroad. The Servant of the People party also reacted to this event. First, the head of the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, David Arakhamia, wrote in Telegram: "I see that not everyone understands what Members of Parliament should do during the war. Therefore, we are preparing a number of personnel decisions." Later, the head of the Servant of the People party, Olena Shulyak, said that Tyshchenko had been expelled from the party. The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, posted on Facebook that "Mykola Tyshchenko was not sent abroad."

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