Refugee who fled Ukraine war to UK is ‘wanted fugitive mobster’ – but we can’t deport him due to human rights

NewsUK News A REFUGEE who came to the UK in the Homes for Ukraine scheme is wanted in Kyiv suspected of being a gangster — but has dodged extradition. Mykola Kubrak, 31, is accused of stashing weapons including rocket launchers and anti-tank grenades at a fish farm in western Ukraine. Mykola Kubrak, a Ukrainian refugee who came to the UK in the Homes for Ukraine scheme, is wanted in Kyiv suspected of being a gangster Credit: Ray Collins A request to deport him to face trial was rejected at Westminster magistrates’ court this month after his lawyers argued he had a right to family life Credit: Ray Collins He is also charged with a car theft and violently extorting cash from victims, including in an abduction attempt in Ivano-Frankivsk in 2021 that led a person to go into hiding. He fled to Britain the following year after the Russian invasion. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! But Kubrak has avoided extradition due to human rights laws. A request to deport him to face trial was rejected at Westminster magistrates’ court this month after his lawyers argued he had a right to family life. The court accepted that his dental assistant Ukrainian girlfriend “relies upon Kubrak for emotional and financial support” in Ealing, West London. They are not believed to have children. The ruling came despite Ukrainian prosecutors describing Kubrak as a fugitive who was part of a brutal organised crime gang known for “armament, aggressiveness and cruelty”. Chief magistrate Paul Golding said: “This is one of the rare, exceptional cases where severe and catastrophic impact on private and family life outweighs the public interest in extradition..” Most read in The Sun Kubrak’s lawyers also argued that he was not at the top of the criminal hierarchy and did not know of the charges when he fled Ukraine. They added that he has had driving jobs and worked in a car wash, and feared being sent to fight on the front lines in the war-torn country. Kubrak’s £20,000 bail was extended and he remains on a nightly curfew. The CPS is appealing the decision. Comment now