One of the largest corruption scandals in the healthcare and energy sectors is brewing in Ukraine - simultaneously in two directions that directly affect the lives of the population. According to available materials and citizens' appeals, officials of the Ministry of Healthcare and the National Health Service may have acted in collusion with the country's largest pharmaceutical manufacturers. In parallel, representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers and heads of energy structures appear in a possible scheme to embezzle funds allocated for the reconstruction of critically important infrastructure in the exclusion zone.
According to the applicants, the Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko, his deputy Ihor Kuzin and the head of the National Health Insurance Fund Nataliya Husak allegedly coordinated their actions with representatives of pharmaceutical giants - Farmak, InterKhim, Borshchahiv Chemical and Pharmaceutical Plant, Viola, Arterium Corporation, Kyiv Vitamin Plant, Kusum Pharm and Yuriya-Pharm. The essence of the claims is the systematic overpricing of medicines, manipulation of wholesale price ceilings and blocking of real state regulation, despite the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of January 30 and Presidential Decree No. 40/2025. Formally, declarations of price reductions were made, but in fact the market value of drugs did not decrease. This provided pharmaceutical corporations with super-profits and strengthened the monopolization of the market, and for patients meant even greater financial pressure in the midst of the war.
Despite the seriousness of the facts stated, the investigating judge of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv, Olena Khardina, refused to satisfy the complaint regarding the failure to enter information into the ERDR. Ruling No. 761/36319/25 of November 25 effectively blocked the start of an official investigation into the alleged violations.
In parallel, another possible organized group has come into focus — this time at the intersection of government structures and the energy sector. The materials mention Energy Minister Serhiy Grinchuk, his predecessor and current head of the Ministry of Justice Herman Galushchenko, former acting minister Yuriy Vitrenko, as well as the management of the State Agency for the Protection of Energy and the Environment and the National Energy Company Ukrenergo. They could have been involved in the scheme of misappropriation of funds allocated for the reconstruction of the 330 kV overhead line "Chernobyl NPP - Slavutych" — a facility that is critical for the country's energy security.
According to the applicants, instead of fulfilling obligations to modernize the infrastructure, officials contributed to the disruption of tender works, transferred funding through controlled structures, and created conditions for further legalization of funds through conversion centers. The scheme, according to preliminary data, included tax evasion, "kickbacks" to officials of the State Tax Service and the State Audit Service, as well as providing illegal benefits to conceal violations.
Both stories — in medicine and energy — have a common denominator: the concentration of decisions in the hands of narrow groups, the lack of proper control, and the systematic monetization of state powers. If the circumstances are confirmed, we are talking about one of the largest corruption hubs of wartime, which simultaneously affects the availability of medicines and the stability of the energy system.
