“Titushky” on Demand: How Bankova Manufactures Protests to Order
Source: Author’s Facebook page
I promised you a story about the titushky who were sent after me with a so-called “protest.” It took a few days to piece everything together — and what came out is far more interesting than it first seemed.
So, on September 26, a strange post appeared on the Trukha Telegram channel — about some kind of “protest” outside my cooperative, featuring people with empty cardboard boxes. As you know, cardboard boxes have already become a trauma trigger for the current government after the youth protests against stripping NABU and SAPO of their procedural independence. But if those boxes were creative and meaningful, these were simply empty — which, frankly, makes sense.
As it later turned out, a group of well-built guys had been brought to the dacha complex where I live the day before. They were taken out of a car, handed cardboard boxes, photographed, then loaded back in and driven away. The security guards didn’t even understand what was happening — but they managed to take a picture of the car and called the police.
The owner of the Chevrolet Volt that accompanied the “protesters” — from which both the video and photos were taken — is Andriy Derenivskyi. He’s easy to find on Facebook, where it’s clear he’s actively involved in judo. No other notable activity is visible besides sports. The guys he brought with those empty cardboard boxes really do look like members of a sports club — with all due respect to athletes.
On Instagram, he goes by @drenya98, and apparently, “Drenya” is his long-standing nickname. They say Andriy never graduated from university and barely made it through vocational school — hence his fame in certain non-public circles.
What’s interesting is that Derenivskyi is listed as the sole owner of two companies — Encross LLC and Marten Locks LLC (as confirmed by YouControl data). These firms are noteworthy because they served as intermediaries in the acquisition of assets belonging to Russian businessman Ihor Naumets, whose company Unigran was involved in mineral extraction in the Zhytomyr region.
Naumets was sanctioned by Ukraine for supplying crushed stone to the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk. His business was later “bought out” by Ukrainian entrepreneur Serhiy Shapran, who is now in pre-trial detention on charges of embezzling assets worth ₴1 billion and for alleged collusion with Naumets. Shapran was caught trying to illegally cross the Ukrainian border and detained — but just two weeks ago, he was released on a ₴5 million bail.
Shapran is well known in the Kyiv region for controlling sand mining — a lucrative business, often “protected” by certain law enforcement circles.
A major Radio Liberty investigation delves into this entire network — and Derenivskyi’s companies appear there as intermediary firms.
According to multiple sources, Derenivskyi — or “Drenya” — is Shapran’s man, a front figure. Shapran, in turn, is a business partner of Odesa Regional Administration head Oleksiy Kiper. Notably, Shapran was released from custody on September 16.
So, I would like to ask the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police: Is there a Russian trace here? Because I view such “protests” as pressure, and if they are organized by people involved in criminal cases — and with possible Russian connections — this becomes quite telling.
However, I am convinced that these guys were simply hired for a “sensitive” assignment — whether for money or through other arrangements. With or without Shapran’s involvement. Whether through his law enforcement connections or not.
Later, the so-called “news” about this stunt appeared on Telegram channels — the same ones fully controlled by the security agencies and the authorities, where you can post anything for ₴60,000. This was clearly not Derenivskyi’s personal initiative. He had a client.
Law enforcement could easily identify that client — too many people were involved. Those who received the payment can point directly to the payer. And Telegram channels are under such tight surveillance that the Security Service could get any information in minutes, if there were a will. I will submit an official request. But I have no doubt: this was done with the authorities’ blessing.
What’s the goal of such operations, other than psychological pressure? Hard to say. But the methods look painfully familiar. I remember very well this tactic from the Yanukovych era — when groups of athletic men were brought in for “mass events.” It’s sad to admit that we are once again witnessing the worst echoes of the Yanukovych years, only slightly modernized: the “titushki” have been replaced by “dreni.”
Attached: a photo of Ihor Derenivskyi, the children’s event he organized with the same empty cardboard boxes, and his car.
If you recognize any of the “participants,” write to me.
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