Scandal surrounding Mikhail Brodsky: how a journalist who raised the topic of deaths in bomb shelters during the war is being threatened with arrest and is trying to silence him
Mykhailo and Yuriy Brodsky have announced a hunt for a Ukrainian journalist. Well-known businessman, politician, and owner of the publication “Obozrevatel” Mykhailo Brodsky and his son Yuriy have resorted to what the journalistic community calls the most dangerous challenge — direct intimidation and threats.
Journalist Dmytro Kravchenko is not a figure in a yellow chronicle, but an author of public investigations who are not afraid to touch the painful. It is for this reason — for his principled position and the truth — that he receives threats of physical violence: from people who are used to buying influence, laws, and fear.
“Death Bunker”: from tragedy to political pressure
On the night of June 1, 2023, two women and a child were killed in a missile strike in the Desnyanskyi district of Kyiv. They were not allowed into the bomb shelter. The reason is banal and at the same time terrifying: the door was closed.
Link: Tverezo, 01.06.2023 — https://tverezo.info/post/173147
Journalist Dmytro Kravchenko, who, unlike officials, was not indifferent, registered a petition to the President of Ukraine demanding the temporary suspension of the head of the Kyiv City State Administration, Vitaliy Klitschko. The petition is rapidly gaining votes.
And just when it seemed that the reaction would be formal, the President’s phrase was uttered, which instantly woke up the country:
“Maybe a knockout.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went public with an unprecedentedly tough statement. It was short but apt. Like a flash, it illuminated the dark areas of responsibility. And, perhaps, it affected not only officials, but also those who for years profited from the infrastructure that was supposed to save lives.
Link: President’s Telegram channel — https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/6453
Video 1 — President’s speech: https://youtu.be/RRaHuqi2PzA?feature=shared
After these words, the situation developed rapidly: Vitali Klitschko was reprimanded, and mass inspections of bomb shelters began in all regions. At the same time, another campaign began – less noticeable, but no less powerful. Voting for the petition began to be blocked. And the journalist had to turn to people’s deputies, the head of the SBU, and the relevant minister.
How the Brodskys found themselves at the center of the bomb shelter story
“What’s Brodsky here for?” you ask.
But here’s why. The above-mentioned events — the death of people near a closed shelter, a public petition, the President’s reaction — became the impetus for a large-scale inventory of bomb shelters across the country, with special attention to the capital. And it was during this inspection that schemes began to emerge that many would like to leave in concrete.
Someone started to get nervous. Someone started to act. And here comes to the fore a story that begins to resemble not journalism, but a thriller script.
“Dark Corridors”: Dreams, Signals, Observations
Journalist Dmytro Kravchenko began to have dreams. Not stories, but states: anxiety, silence, a sense of presence. Doors that close not from the wind, but from the will. Empty corridors in which there is someone. A cold wall against which your back is pressed. A rapid pulse.
“I don’t know this family fully. But I feel like I’m touching on something that shouldn’t be open. They have a history. They have shadows. They definitely have friends in Italy, Israel, Russia. They have a residence permit in Russia. Maybe more. I can’t prove it. But I feel it.”
Against this background, activity in his social networks is growing. Yuriy Brodsky shows an unhealthy interest in the journalist’s pages. Observation? Psychological pressure? Signal? Choosing words here is risky. Because innocent formulations sometimes cost safety.
“Bunkers for money”: Brodsky’s business footprints
The inventory began as a logical response to the tragedy. But those who remember the 1990s quickly recognized familiar patterns, familiar faces, and familiar premises. But very quickly it turned into an expose: what was supposed to be a place of salvation became a source of profit for individuals. Names surfaced not in official reports, but in open databases of owners. One of these was Mykhailo Brodsky. And it was from his trail that the map of a real parallel Kyiv began to be built – the one in which shelters were transformed into exchangers, warehouses, and retail outlets.
Link: President’s Telegram channel — https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/6453
During the inspection of bomb shelters, it turned out that some of the premises that were supposed to protect citizens in the event of a threat had long since become private property. And very often, these were business facilities associated with Mykhailo Brodsky’s structures.
In the 90s, these were the exchangers of the Dandy Bank, located in semi-basement premises. These premises were supposed to remain objects of civil defense. But instead of protection, there was profit. Instead of security, there was cash.
“It will be like with Kravchenko” — words that smell of gasoline or threats from Brodsky that sound like an order
The threats from Mikhail and Yuri Brodsky are not like emotional explosions on social media. They are quite specific formulations that sound like a warning, like the ashes of an old school that does not forgive curiosity.
“I’m 64. I don’t care. Do you want to try your luck?”
“And you’re 39. So what? Don’t be scared, you scared ones.”
“I find out whose channel it is — it will be like with Kravchenko.”
This is not a metaphor. This is style. The style of the 90s, where the street and business were part of the same environment. Where “finding” meant not writing on Facebook, but coming. In person. And setting a condition.
This is how, in a manner that will be recognizable to anyone who lived through and remembers the chaos of the 90s, Brodsky tries to “talk” to the journalist. But the journalist is not a character from the past. He is part of the future. And that is precisely why they want to silence him.
“Legacy of the 90s”: Dandy Bank and Undercover Business
The Brodskys’ threats are just the tip of the iceberg. To understand why this story is so dangerous, we need to go back. In the 90s. In the same years when Ukrainian wild capitalism was forming, and every semi-basement could become either an exchange office, an office, or a place where nothing was asked. It was then that the Dandy Bank appeared on the market – a structure associated with Mikhail Brodsky, which was later removed from the state register.
But the financial story is only part of it. The newspaper “Kyivskie Vydomosty” mentioned the activities of this company long before its name began to appear in investigations.
Link: Golos.ua — https://golos.ua/news/yuriya-brodskogo-podozrevayut-v-organizatsii-transportirovki-kokaina-v-es
All these threads — bankruptcies, privatization of shelters, threats — converge at one point. This is not just business. This is a system built back then, in the 90s. A system that still believes that no one will touch it.
A typical scaling story: from exchanger to mandate
This is a classic scheme for accumulating influence in the 90s. But Brodsky did not stop at currency exchange offices. Then — scaling: the publications “Obozrevatel”, “Oboz” — convenient tools for influencing any new government. Then — a sports showcase: basketball clubs. Then — the first deputy mandate. And, of course, acquaintances: in particular, with the former Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, intelligence officer Ivanov S.B., who was mentioned more than once in the context of political influence through foreign channels.
Yes, this is not a mistake. This acquaintance did not prevent Mr. Brodsky from building bridges with former figures from Israel and Great Britain in parallel. All this is not just a contact book, but part of a complex detective saga in which political connections, business interests and shadow diplomacy are woven into a single knot of influence.
To imagine the scale of this figure’s real presence in the country’s life, one only has to turn to open sources. It is from them that the most revealing, sometimes cynical stories emerge. For example, about the trade in military ammunition during a full-scale war – on the “Epicenter” network. As well as about the supply of training equipment to the so-called “DPR”.
Link: Grom-ua — https://grom-ua.org/node/4915
Link: NV.biz — https://biz.nv.ua/ukr/markets/skandal-z-bronezhiletami-kompaniya-sim-ji-gereg-shlosnulasya-z-kompaniyeyu-sim-ji-brodskih-50243635.html
Link: Korrespondent.net — https://blogs.korrespondent.net/blog/events/4229629/
No less blatant, although more carefully hidden, are the stories related to sand mining and the appropriation of elite lands in the Kyiv region — no longer alone, but in tandem with People’s Deputy Nestor Shufrych, who is now accused of treason:
Link: KyivVlada — https://kyivvlada.com.ua/news/kiivskij-richkovij-port-brodskogo-ta-shufricha-znovu-pretendue-na-novo-ukrainske-rodovishhe-pisku-v-kiivskij-oblasti/
Link: KyivVlada — https://kyivvlada.com.ua/news/sbu-prijshla-z-obshukom-do-biznesmena-mihajla-brodskogo/
Link: YouTube — https://youtu.be/ajmuVNOhoZY?feature=shared
Link: UA2Day (part 1) — https://ua2day.net/nardep-nestor-shufrich-prodovzhuє-deribanitii-koshtovnu-zemlju-v-koncha-zaspi-perebuvajuchi-v-sizo-chastina-1/
Link: UA2Day (part 2) — https://ua2day.net/nardep-nestor-shufrich-prodovzhuє-deribanitii-koshtovnu-zemlju-v-koncha-zaspi-perebuvajuchi-v-sizo-chastina-2/
Link: UA2Day (part 3) — https://ua2day.net/nardep-nestor-shufrich-za-dopomogoju-mikhajjla-ta-jurіja-brodskikh-prodovzhuє-deribanitii-koshtovnu-zemlju-v-koncha-zaspi-perebuvajuchi-v-sizo-chastina-3/
“When Silence Kills”: an official appeal to law enforcement officers
This publication is not just a journalistic investigation. It is a signal. It is a public fixation of the threat directed at Dmytro Kravchenko.
We are talking about direct threats to the life of a journalist who exposed abuses that cost the country human lives. We are talking about structures that have exploited public infrastructure for decades, turned security into profit, and now resort to pressure.
“I have no intention of remaining silent. If they come for me, you will know why. And who.” — Dmytro Kravchenko
Therefore, we call on:
- Open criminal proceedings on the facts of public threats.
- Provide physical protection for Dmytro Kravchenko.
- Conduct an audit of all bomb shelters that are in private use and have connections to structures close to Mykhailo Brodsky.
Because when silence kills, speaking becomes the only form of protection.
The end of history — or just its beginning?
This text is more than a chronicle of facts. It is a story about a choice: between fear and responsibility, between silence and action. Dmytro Kravchenko chose the latter. And now we — as a society — must answer the question: will we allow “what happened to Kravchenko” to happen to him?
The reality of this story is not in the headlines. It is in a system that believes that money can buy everything. Even silence. But it is precisely because of the voices that will not be silenced that this system is beginning to crack.
Perhaps this publication is not the end, but only its beginning.
In a war situation, the country cannot afford the luxury of turning a blind eye to the arbitrariness of those who may have been enriching themselves for years using “covers” and connections with dubious circles. The question remains rhetorical: will our law enforcement officers have time to stop this before we get a new “Gongadze” ?
