"Zelensky's Wallet." Who is Serhiy Shefir, whose car was shot at?

In the Obukhiv district near Kyiv, the car of Sergei Shefir, President Zelensky's first aide, was shot at.

Shefir was not injured, but his driver was seriously wounded. He was the one who was shot at from the side of the road when the Audi A8 was driving towards the village of Lesniki.

There are various versions of what happened. The main question is why the shots were fired at the driver's door, missing even the window. Even though the passenger, who could have been the target, was sitting in the back seat to the right (diagonally from the driver).

So far, this looks like either a set-up or a warning, without the intention of killing Sergei Shefir specifically.

The Presidential Office is already making full use of this situation. Even before any investigation has reached any conclusions, they're hinting that the assassination attempt was orchestrated by oligarchs—to thwart, they say, the president's initiatives that the Rada doesn't want to pass (laws on oligarchs, the introduction of new taxes, the dismissal of Speaker Razumkov, etc.).

In other words, whether it's an assassination attempt or a set-up, Zelensky is using the situation politically to tighten the screws and push through stalled initiatives to strengthen the president's power.

This story also brought to mind one of the most private, but at the same time most influential members of the Zelensky team – Sergei Shefir. Country tells who he is and what is known about him.

Fellow "Kvartal" member and cottage neighbor - Sergei Shefir

Serhiy Shefir is a longtime associate of Zelenskyy's at Kvartal. He and his brother, Boris, are writers and producers of dozens of shows and series at the studio, including "Servant of the People," which made Zelenskyy president.

Here are the films for which Sergei Shefir personally wrote the scripts from 2005 to 2011:

• "Dinner is served!"
• Professor in Law
• New Year's Matchmakers
• "Legend. Lyudmila Gurchenko"
• Office Romance: Our Time

She and her brother Boris began writing scripts in Kryvyi Rih for the local KVN team. In 2003, together with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, they founded the company "Studio Kvartal-95"—a company based on the KVN team of the same name. Sergey Shefir personally created the show "Evening Kvartal."

So it's clear this man is very close to the president, both in business and personally. The Zelensky and Shefir families bought neighboring houses in a cottage community near Kyiv so they could "barbecue together."

"When we four friends bought four houses, we agreed that each of us would give up a corner of our land for common use. Barbecue, a gym, etc.," Zelensky said in an interview.

Subsequently, after being elected president, Zelenskyy planned to sell his house in Ivankovychi to Shefir. But he ultimately re-registered it to a fellow countrywoman, the wife of Servant of the People MP Yuriy Kisel, who, incidentally, employs Shefir's son, Nikita, as an assistant.

For Nikita, as the program "Schemes" later reported, the deputy kissel He negotiated a fourfold salary increase from the Rada staff. But that's the story of Shefir the politician.

Meanwhile, Zelensky continues to share property with the Shefir brothers. The president's declaration reveals that they jointly own two luxury apartments in Kyiv, each measuring approximately 200 square meters.

Shefir: beginning in politics

After Zelensky's victory in the presidential elections, his closest associates in Kvartal also rose to prominence.

Serhiy Shefir is now President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's first aide. He was appointed to the position on May 21, 2019, the day after his inauguration. During the election campaign, Shefir was one of the leaders of Zelenskyy's headquarters.

It's safe to say that the "Kvartal" screenwriter ended up being the least public figure in the entire presidential office. He's barely mentioned on the head of state's website. And what he actually does is a big question.

Even his brother Boris was much more talkative, calling in one interview for reconciliation with Russia and not to infringe on the Russian language in Ukraine. After which the President's Office quickly distanced itself from these words.

However, in one of his few interviews, Sergei Shefir repeated the same points. He stated that "geographically, we're not going anywhere" with Russia. And the war in Donbas continues partly due to "language speculation."

"This issue divides the country. Now in kindergartens and schools children speak Ukrainian. In the future, this will be genetically fixed. There is no need to divide the people. Historically, it has developed in such a way that half of the population spoke Russian, half - Ukrainian," Shefir noted.

"My opinion is that we won't be able to take back Donbas by forcing them to speak Ukrainian," Zelensky's aide argued in the summer of 2019. He also said that Putin isn't a maniac, but a "smart man."

Serhiy Shefir – Zelensky's "Wallet"

However, the president’s real policy has taken a completely different path, and now the theses that his assistant voiced at the dawn of Zelensky’s career are no longer relevant for Bankova.

And Shefir, apparently, was already busy with other matters. A year ago, "Schemes" reported that Sergey had secretly visited oligarch Rinat Akhmetov's mansion in the village of Plyuty. Neither Akhmetov nor Shefir commented on what he was doing there.

Zelensky's aide simply responded: "I'll answer all your questions immediately. I'm not doing anything contrary to the interests of our country, I'm not doing anything illegal, period."

But it has become clear that Shefir is also responsible for connections with influential Ukrainians (and his lack of publicity only confirms this assumption). It is also known that Serhiy is friends with the former co-owner of the Industrial Union of Donbas, Vitaliy Haiduk (who, in turn, is linked to a number of appointments in the current Cabinet of Ministers, such as Ecology Minister Abramovsky). National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov is also considered close to Haiduk.

There were also persistent rumors that the presidential aide oversees many "money-related" matters in the Office. Strana previously reported on how, under his patronage, the leadership of the National Health Service—an agency with a budget of billions—was replaced.

“Until recently, Shefir was considered a key person in the president’s team for controlling financial flows and redistributing business in favor of Zelensky and his inner circle.

He was often called Zelenskyy's "wallet." Under Poroshenko, they took away shares in businesses, and now they're taking away businesses," sources in the Ukrainian business community told Strana.

One of the most recent scandals that could have involved Sergei Shefir is the shutdown of the Odessa Port Plant. The presidential aide is accused of influencing the company AgroGazTrading, which stopped gas supplies to the Odesa Port Plant, leading to the plant's closure.

Has the relationship between Shefir and Ze changed recently?

About a couple of weeks ago, the media reported that Shefir had a row with Zelensky and even allegedly took his things out of Bankova. This happened as a result of a conflict with the head of the OP Yermak. However, as we can see, Shefir was not fired, formally his status did not change.

Whether Shefir's real influence has diminished under Volodymyr Zelenskyy is questionable. But given his continued growth in influence, Ermaka, who could not like Shefir's privileged status, this cannot be ruled out.

Servant of the People members interviewed by Strana say Shefir was one of those who openly opposed the oligarch bill—in its current format, when the president and the National Security and Defense Council, which he controls, decide who gets labeled as such.

And in this context, the assumption that it was the oligarchs who sent "hello" to Zelensky looks illogical. It turns out that they attacked a person who advocated a more moderate policy towards them. And, as has already been established, even served as a "liaison" between Bankova and influential Ukrainians.

Likewise, the "Kremlin hand" theory, hinted at by the Presidential Office and the Servant of the People faction leadership, is also less credible. Shefir, as we recall, has been vocal in favor of halting Ukrainization and compromising with Moscow. And he hasn't made any international appearances recently.

Therefore, the versions of a commercial showdown or simply a staging seem the most likely at the moment.

In topic: "Shefir and Radutsky are taking over." What does the change in leadership of the National Health Service mean?

Presidential aide Shefir is protecting illegal development in the Irpen River floodplain, according to media reports.

Journalists recorded Shefir's visit to Akhmetov at the end of August.

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