Recently, the son of former Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes, Kyrylo, appeared in the media and hinted at his ambitions to lead Kharkiv. UNN has analyzed who he is and whether he is known for anything other than his father's surname in this article.
In mid-March 2022, Kyrylo Kernes left for Germany, where he still lives. Since November 2023, he has given several interviews.
"If people want it, if there is a request, I will certainly participate in the political life of our city," Kyrylo Kernes said in an interview.
UNN sources reported that Kyrylo Kernes regularly travels to Vienna for meetings with pro-Russian politician Yevhen Muraiev. The latter, according to British intelligence, was planned by Russia to be appointed governor of Ukraine when it "takes Kyiv in three days."
According to UNN's sources , Muraiev offered Kyrylo Kernes to become the governor of Kharkiv when he himself became a Russian protege. It is possible that Muraiev could have chosen Kyrylo Muraiev because of his well-known surname, Kernes. He tried to repeat his father's career, but failed. After the election, Kyrylo began to be active on social media, but after the start of the full-scale invasion, his activity decreased and he remained silent about Russia's military aggression against Ukraine for a long time. Perhaps he played the silence game precisely because of the "promised position" and was waiting for the arrival of the "Russian world" in the city. Thus, Kyrylo Kernes became a "good tool," but in the hands of pro-Russian forces that aim to destabilize the situation in Kharkiv and the whole of Ukraine.
At one time, Hennadiy Kernes was able to make the right move, which played a huge role in his political career. During the Euromaidan, he was a member of the Party of Regions and openly criticized the actions of the Maidan protesters and the opposition. However, when the opposition came to power, Kernes Sr. was able to quickly change his shoes and showed great loyalty to Petro Poroshenko's team. However, Kyrylo Kernes lacks either his father's determination or political savvy. From abroad, he and Yevhen Muraiev, along with his entourage of Russian authorities, seem to think that the situation in Kharkiv is not very good and that there is a chance to return to power. Or maybe they just ran out of money. Life in Europe is not cheap these days. In addition, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin recently statedthat the goals of the so-called special operation are unchanged. In addition, recently, BILD military analyst Julian Röpke, citing intelligence sources, said that Russia intends to continue military operations in Ukraine until 2026, and during this time plans to capture most of Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kharkiv regions, including their regional centers. This may have inspired Kyrylo Kernes and the people who run him, along with Muraiev, to try to prepare the ground for the arrival of the "Russian world" in Kharkiv. However, they did not take into account that Kharkiv residents have long since proven that no one is waiting for Russia in Kharkiv and will not allow anyone to take it over. And the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the most powerful defense line has been prepared in the Kharkiv region.
In an exclusive commentary to UNN, expert Serhiy Shabovta noted that the role of Kyrylo Kernes should not be overestimated. He suggested that they may have discussed something with Yevhen Muraiev, but it was hardly a "powerful plan."
"... I don't really believe in the idea that there can be a certain human resource of such gauleiters who are now waiting and intending to push for some actions related to the stability of Ukraine," he says.
At the same time, Ukrainian businessman, blogger, and philanthropist Garik Korogodsky said in an interview with Natalia Moseychuk that he considers people who keep silent about Russia's full-scale invasion to be Ukraine's enemies.
"It's a war of ideology, you are on the side of good or you are on the side of evil. If you are silent today, whether it is in relation to countries, to people, to anyone, if you are silent, you are also on the side of evil, and I believe that the one who is silent is the enemy," he said.
Recall.
Earlier, political expert Ihor Reiterovych in a commentary to UNN emphasizedthat Russia does not abandon its intentions to capture Kharkiv and the entire Kharkiv region, although today they do not have sufficient resources to do so. However, the Kremlin is already conducting information attacks to destabilize the situation in the city. In particular, the aggressor country can use people who are abroad, but not in Russia, to undermine the situation in Kharkiv. According to him, for example, Russia can use civic activists who have traveled abroad and criticize local authorities from there, including local authorities. In his opinion, the story of Kyrylo Kernes, the son of former Kharkiv mayor Hennadiy Kernes, who appeared in the media field only three years later, is very similar.
In addition, political analyst Oleksandr Kochetkov in a commentary to UNN statedthat the occupiers already have a significant practice of using various kinds of IPSO to destabilize the situation, and Kyrylo Kernes' statements can be a vivid example of such work.
In his opinion, there are two explanations for Kyrylo Kernes' activity right now, which can be either separate or combined. One is material, i.e., related to money, in particular, Kyrylo Kernes may want to get or keep something that he believes belongs to him. The other is that it points to a Russian trace.
As a reminder, the Security Service of Ukraine collected evidence against the leader of the banned Nashi party, former MP Yevhen Muraiev, and in July 2023 served him with a notice of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code: Part 1 of Article 111 (high treason); Part 1 of Article 161 (violation of the equality of citizens based on their race, nationality, region, religious beliefs, disability and other grounds).
According to the investigation, cited by the SBU, "Muraiev used the Nash TV channel under his control to massively disseminate Kremlin narratives in the information space of Ukraine." In this regard, in early February 2022, the National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions on Muraiev's TV channel. He faces up to 15 years in prison.