Zelenskyy Offended Him: Five Facts About Lukashenko’s “Oil Wallet”
- 22.10.2026, 9:42
Vorobey surprised everyone with his “people’s militia” unit.
Nikolai Vorobey recently surprised many with his “people’s militia” unit. Plus, for the first time in many years, a government official and a businessman have communicated so much in public. “Solidarnast” recounts the past successes and failures of a man from Lukashenko’s inner circle.
The “oil wallet” remained in the shadows for a long time
Even when Nikolai Vorobey had already become one of the businessmen close to the ruler and was actively involved in the trade of petroleum products (his “Interservice” group of companies supplied them to foreign markets), almost nothing was known about him. It is clear that Vorobey himself decided it was in his best interest to stay out of the spotlight.
Only years later, the businessman’s access to this strategic industry could no longer be concealed, and he earned the nickname “Lukashenko’s oil wallet.”
Vorobey gave his first interview only in 2019, and even then he answered TUT.BY’s questions in writing. Among other things, the native of the Ukrainian SSR and graduate of Kyiv State University (a historian by training) said that he has lived in Belarus continuously since his military service in the second half of the 1980s.
Vorobey was friends with Shakutin, but they parted ways
Until the second half of the 2010s, Vorobey carried out many projects with a far more public and well-known businessman Alexander Shakutin. Among other things, they owned “Interservice” and the “Krasny Bor” hunting estate (one of the most expensive tourist complexes in Belarus, opened in 2015), and they purchased “Absolutbank.”
However, in the second half of the 2010s, Shakutin withdrew from many of their joint ventures. Vorobey stated: “We split the business amicably, like men, without any mutual grievances. Currently, each of us is minding our own business.”
It is possible that Vorobey was already aware that Shakutin’s affairs were not going well. As a reminder, in recent years he lost control of the “Amkodor” holding company. A year ago, there were even reports in the media that Shakutin had been briefly detained due to debts.
How Vorobey Got Burned in Ukraine
In the late 2010s, Vorobey’s companies acquired a controlling stake in the pipeline company “Prykarpatzapadtrans.” The businessman explained this decision as a desire to facilitate and reduce the cost of delivering petroleum products from Belarus to Ukraine and other European countries.
Ukrainian media reported that Vorobey is linked to German citizen Anatoly Shefer, who is part of the inner circle of pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk.
In 2020, Vorobey also attempted to acquire Ukraine’s BTA Bank.
As a result, in 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree nationalizing a section of the oil pipeline that belonged to “Prykarpatzapadtrans.”
The Downfall of “Absolutbank.” How Vorobey is maneuvering to circumvent sanctions
Things aren’t going well for Vorobey inside Belarus either. It’s all because of European and American sanctions. The businessman, who has fallen under their scope, is forced to hide behind the names of his associates and the names of new companies.
Recently, new companies backed by Vorobey have emerged on the scene, including “Mineral Goods Trade” from Novopolotsk. As the Bureau discovered, in just two years of operation, this petroleum products trading company has achieved remarkable results—its revenue exceeded one billion dollars.
And according to BelPol, the company “LandResource” was one of the largest importers of Russian oil into Belarus in 2021–2022, earning, by some estimates, up to $2.2 billion through these schemes.
However, it is not always possible to circumvent sanctions. Absolutbank met a sad fate: due to sanctions, it changed its legal status in 2022 to the credit and financial organization “OptiKurs,” and its banking license was revoked. “OptiKurs” quietly ceased operations a year later.
Vorobey and Lukashenko’s scheme: a service for a service
According to official reports, on October 15–16, Lukashenko spent two days visiting facilities associated with “Krasny Bor” in the Verkhnedvinsk District of the Vitebsk Region. From this, one can conclude that the president spent the night at a prestigious resort complex as a guest of the businessman.
For the first time in many years, Lukashenko interacted so much publicly with his “oil wallet.” First, he praised him for the “Krasny Bor Agro” livestock enterprise and announced the transfer of state-owned land to the businessman:
“Nikolai, if you want support, I’ve decided at home what you should take. I’m ready to hand it over to you.
Second, Vorobey pleased Lukashenko by showing him a training exercise by a local “people’s militia” unit. The ruler was pleased:
— Everything they’re equipped with—machine guns, assault rifles, and so on—he (Vorobey—S.) bought it all with his own money. This state structure was created on the basis of what is commonly referred to as a public-private partnership.
However, it is unlikely that Vorobey will lose out by getting involved in agriculture and supporting the “people’s militia” unit. Thanks to his close ties to Lukashenko, he gets what other businessmen can only dream of.
A description of the following scheme recently emerged: Vorobey’s company built an expensive clinic for the Medical Commission, receiving in exchange the right to develop the center of Minsk.
Given all of the above, one should not assume that the millions Vorobey earns belong exclusively to him. That is precisely what a businessman and “Lukashenko’s wallet” is for—to disburse money from time to time at Lukashenko’s behest.