The last time he appeared on TV as an actor, it didn’t end well. It happened during the Ukrainian version of the Sanremo festival. Serhiy Prytula had entered the scene to make his usual jokes but when he saw the artist Khayat – a kind of Tiziano Ferro of Kirovhorad attacked a few days earlier in the Kiev subway – Serhiy came out of the script: “Of course if you dress like that, then don’t complain if they slap you in public transport ». Open up heaven.
For the now former comedian Serhiy Prytula, a storm of criticism and attacks on social media broke out. Racist and homophobic, the most indulgent adjectives. So Serhiy had to disappear from circulation for a while. When he resurfaced he was all perky again and ready to run his candidacy for mayor of Kiev. “If Zelensky made it, I can be successful too.” It didn’t happen that way.
The war readjusts scripts, especially those of low quality. That of Serhiy Prytula, missed mayor of Kiev (only 7.2% of the preferences, fifth and last in the race won by Vitali Klitschko) provides for a rather original second act. Under the bombs in Kiev his jokes have stopped making riders and therefore Serhiy today is an importer of strictly English SUVs. Second hand
They are seen darting around the streets of the country, from Kherkiv to Mykolaiyv. They jump to the eye. The typical yellow plates, the drive on the right, a crew always made up of men. Armed.
They are the ideal means for carrying out rapid and effective operations by special forces. Underlying it all are the good contacts that Prytula has established for years in the UK.
Having graduated in economics in record time, Serhy was in fact sent to London at the age of twenty to study how god commands. But those who met him around the City remember him mainly for his tireless nights in comedy clubs or at the restaurant where he worked as a waiter. But he also worked as a bricklayer to support himself and it seems that in that environment he cultivated the right knowledge to start this interesting import business today.
In the first weeks of the conflict he brought in about thirty vehicles, the transports are jokingly called “Hell Rides”. Today, however, the SUVs would be more than a hundred. He buys them using cryptocurrencies (they cost about six thousand euros if in good condition, because in Europe there is certainly not much demand for used right-hand drive vehicles), he loads them on a truck and after about a week they reach the front of the conflict in which there is more demand. There are many Ukrainian soldiers who know how to drive on the right, many of them trained over the years inside the UK bases.
The history of SUVs began a bit for fun, but today Prytula occupies a large office in Kiev. Together with cars, he brings bulletproof vests, binoculars, night vision goggles but also high-quality drones to the country. That Serhiy is today one of President Zelensky’s biggest supporters is bizarre to some. After having ruinously lost the race to the Kyiv City Hall which he had presented with the opposition party Holos (Voice), Prytula had announced the formation of his own party in stark contrast to the current leader. He had named the movement “August 24”, inspired by the date of Ukrainian independence in 1991, that of the now fading Soviet Union.
«It had to be a patriotic opposition party – explains Serhiy today – my goal was to de-legitimize Zelensky who has totally failed with respect to Europe and NATO. I have known him for twenty years, we have also worked together, he had a too soft approach to foreign policy. We should have pursued our entry into the Atlantic Pact with greater energy ».
With its humanitarian collection center (as it calls it, but it distributes equipment almost entirely to the army and to the brigades of territorial defense volunteers) in a few weeks it has accumulated 7 million euros, part of which was destined for SUVs.
“My political adventure belongs to my previous life – Prytula is keen to underline – since February 24 I am the first supporter of my president and I will do everything in my power to help him and my country win this war”. The feeling is widespread. In the month of March, 40,000 requests for entry into the voluntary territorial defense forces arrived in his office.
It also seems that the history of SUVs made in the United Kingdom constitutes a remarkable success. The requests are increasing from all fronts: “We are behind with deliveries, if we could we would import fifty a day.” These powerful vehicles, manageable and fast compared to classic military vehicles, prompted the army to create small units of sappers, experienced soldiers who penetrate beyond the Russian lines. Evidence of the success of these missions is piling up in Prytula’s office.
“Some soldiers brought me a piece of a Russian jet as a sign of gratitude. I don’t know where they destroyed it, the SUVs help them perform surgical actions ». The private and vaguely sinister collection also includes fragments of Kalibr missiles, even Soviet-made radio transmitters, tank pieces and uniforms of dead soldiers. There would be a bloody one that Serhiy keeps with particular pride. The comedian career is permanently buried.
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