Wladimir Ruban
Date of Birth: 16.08.1967
Wladimir Vladimirovich Ruban - Head of the Center for the Release of Prisoners of the Officer Corps, Chairman of the Officer Corps Party, public figure.
Place of Birth. Education. Born on August 16, 1967, in Kazakhstan, in Almaty, in an officer's family. Father - Garbuzjuk Vladimir Andreyevich, Mother - Garbuzjuk Lyubov Petrovna. They lived in the village of Sasimiye.
In 1984, he graduated from school in Kyiv and entered the Chernigov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots.
In 1989, he changed his name from Garbuzjuk to Ruban.
In 2012, he graduated from the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine. Master of Public Administration in the field of national security.
Military Service. In 1989, he graduated from the Military Academy. Military specialty No. 0618 - Flight Engineer (tactical and strategic fighter aviation, special course on air reconnaissance), L-39, MiG-21. In 1991, he completed a year course at the Military Flight School of the Russian Army, MiG-25 RB.
He served in various units and associations in various flying and commanding positions. He is employed with various aircraft, including the MiG-21 and MiG-25. He received training in tactics, strategy for troop leadership, analytical, and reconnaissance work.
On July 8, 1991, he was dismissed from service in the 48th Air Regiment of the USSR in Kolomyya with the rank of lieutenant.
Business Activities. From 2004 to 2008, he was engaged in printing and publishing, founding a group of companies that actively promoted pro-Russian positions in literature and education. One of Ruban's partners was Alexander Drozdov, a former KGB officer (1974-1990).
Ruban's publishing house 'Kyiv Rus' was involved in the mass production of school textbooks 'Geography. Russia' as well as retraining textbooks for teachers 'Reunification of Russia'. The books were introduced by educational institutions in Donbass in the years 2008-2010.
Politics. In 2013, he became an active member of Viktor Medvedchuk's pro-Russian movement - Ukrainian Choice. On June 20, 2013, he founded his own public organization Officer Corps. Since its foundation, the Officer Corps has opposed Ukraine's European integration and later condemned the protesters on Maidan. However, on December 6, 2013, the members suddenly changed their rhetoric and joined the self-defense of Maidan.
In February 2015, Ruban registered the Officer Corps Party, which later participated in local elections.
In May 2014, Ruban, together with the Officer Corps organization, on his own initiative began the release of hostages from the captivity of the self-proclaimed 'LPR' and 'DPR'. He acted as an intermediary between the terrorists of 'DNR' and 'LNR' and the Ukrainian authorities. In July 2014, he founded the Center for the Release of Hostages in Dnipro.
At the end of February 2017, he temporarily visited the occupied territories of the ORDLO together with Nadia Savchenko, violated the crossing order of the demarcation line, after which the SBU revoked Ruban's permit to enter the ORDLO.
Criticism. He has been repeatedly criticized for his sympathy for the terrorists of the so-called 'DNR' and 'LNR'. During his hostage releases, he expressed the opinion that if the mothers of Ukrainian soldiers who are in captivity with the terrorists kneel and plead for their sons’ lives, the mothers and their children will 'choose correctly' in the future. During negotiations for the release of hostages, Ruban repeatedly advocated for the fighters and accused Ukrainian soldiers of shelling peaceful neighborhoods in Donbass. In his opinion, it is Kyiv that is delaying negotiations for the release of hostages. Other participants in the negotiation process stated that Ruban was sabotaging them and even profiting from the exchanges.
On January 16, 2016, the SBU stated that citizen Vladimir Ruban was spreading claims that he, as a representative of the SBU in Minsk, had negotiated the possible release of Ukrainian citizens detained in Russia and allegedly discussed the possibility of an exchange for Russian soldiers detained in Ukraine. The SBU officially stated that Vladimir Ruban had not received instructions or authority to negotiate the release of Ukrainian citizens: 'Mr. Ruban may have been in Minsk as a private individual, but he has never participated in official negotiations or meetings.' The SBU also denied that Ruban is a 'general' of the intelligence service, as Mr. Ruban claimed.
Ruban is associated with the leader of the pro-Russian organization Ukrainian Choice, Viktor Medvedchuk.
Criminal Case. On March 8, 2018, at 9:15 AM - Ruban was detained by Ukrainian border guards at one of the checkpoints in the Donbass region while attempting to introduce a large quantity of weapons and ammunition from the occupied territories, after which he was handed over to the SBU.
On March 9, he was suspected of violating § 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code 'Illegal Handling of Weapons', part.