Vadym Rabynovych was supposed to land in Kyiv at 10 p.m. Saturday.
In a telephone conversation with The Day's Oksana PANCHENKO,
Mr. Rabynovych said that his visit to Ukraine (from which he was barred
entry) was connected with his personal interests in this country. The ban,
announced by the SBU press service, in his words, cannot prevent him from
visiting, because the 5-year ban had to take legal effect before being
announced. "I have a one-year visa, and it is still valid," the outcast
oligarch said. Oleksandr Skrypnyk, deputy head of the SBU press service,
was laconic, commenting only that Mr. Rabynovych's intentions were known
be those who need to.
Unfortunately, Mr. Rabynovych was unable to make his scheduled charter
flight due to ill health. Stolichnie novosti editor-in-chief Volodymyr
Katsman told The Day that as the magnate boarded his jet he suffered
a heart attack, and the doctors ordered he be hospitalized. "Twenty days
of treatment as a result of a month of frayed nerves," said Mr. Katsman.
Mr. Katsman also added that Mr. Rabynovych had received the go-ahead from
Ukrainian customs authorities, border services, and that this was made
possible by consent of the SBU, which has "some questions" for the Israeli
businessman.
Other versions claim that the man was seen in Kyiv's Boryspil Airport
as President Kuchma was flying off to the Crimea. However, according to
unconfirmed reports, the President's plane was delayed in Kyiv an hour
and a half. Could such an encounter have been the reason Mr. Rabynovych
flew to Kyiv? It is unknown whether they met, but it is obvious that Rabynovych
never stepped foot outside. Presidential press secretary Oleksandr Martynenko
told The Day's correspondent that such information cannot be released.
See our telephone interview with Vadym Rabynovych on page Day after
Day. Regrettably, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Volodymyr
Horbulin made great effort not to comment on this for The Day.






