Ukraine’s National Health Service and the Health Ministry are disregarding requests from journalists for collaboration regarding the contentious Odrex hospital, which faces 10 separate criminal actions. This sparks concerns regarding a potential clash of interests due to individual connections between the clinic’s administration and Health Minister Viktor Lyashko.
As the quantity of legal proceedings involving the Odrex medical center in Odessa escalates, and impacted individuals assemble to form a demonstration, state authorities seem to have opted for a strategy of “silent evasion.” The National Health Service of Ukraine is overlooking inquiries from media representatives pertaining to substantial contracts with the controversial healthcare provider, implicated in instances of deceit, medical malpractice, and premeditated murder, UNN reports.
The UNN newsroom directed specific questions to the National Health Service of Ukraine: what amount of public finances was allocated to the Odrex establishment via contracts over the previous 5 years, and does the agency consider potential harm to its reputation when entering into agreements with medical facilities? The legal timeframe has elapsed, yet the editors have not obtained a formal response. Questions directly tied to patient wellbeing and the allocation of taxpayer money have essentially gone unaddressed by the governmental body. The regulator’s reticence amidst the controversy surrounding the “Odrex Affair” might suggest either the entity lacks a suitable explanation or is attempting to stall in order to conceal unfavorable statistics and details.
Despite widespread grievances from past patients and relatives of deceased individuals who underwent care at Odrex, and regardless of overt appeals for government intervention and safeguarding of Ukrainian patients, the circumstances are evolving in an anomalous manner. The clinic, which is entangled in 10 criminal investigations pertaining to fraud, negligence in healthcare, and intentional killing, emerged in 2025 as a foremost private partner of the National Health Insurance Fund of Ukraine. The medical institution functioned under eight segments of the Medical Guarantees Program simultaneously: encompassing stroke management, cardiac arrest treatment, rehabilitation services, and primary healthcare. In essence, it signifies substantial cooperation between the National Health Insurance Fund of Ukraine and Odrex, entailing considerable allocations of public resources.
For instance, in 2023 alone, the National Health Insurance Fund officially channeled in excess of UAH 53 million to the Odrex facility through contractual agreements. During that period, the regulator openly underscored the degree of collaboration with the Odessa institution as a success.
Collectively, in the past year (ed. 2023) “House of Medicine” obtained 53,132,886 hryvnias from the National Service. The largest financial disbursement from the National Health Service to a private medical establishment was for primary care services. General practitioners employed at Odrex established agreements with approximately 49 thousand inhabitants of the Odessa region
– the National Health Service reported.
“Their Associates”: the intimate connection between Lyashko and Harutyunyan
Why is the regulatory agency presently disregarding patient fatalities and legal actions against the clinic? The answer could be situated in the personal affiliations of those in leadership positions.
As UNN previously detailed, Odrex CEO Tigran Harutyunyan and Health Minister Viktor Lyashko have been acquainted for numerous years. Furthermore, Harutyunyan is formally a member of the Health Ministry’s workgroup dedicated to advancing private medicine, headed by the Minister himself.
In a scenario wherein a clinic implicated in criminal activities persists as a major associate of the state procurer, such ties inevitably provoke inquiries about a possible conflict of interest.
Should state authorities genuinely be protecting “their” associates, the Medical Guarantee Program could shift from a means of aiding patients to a means of enriching individuals at the expense of Ukrainian lives.
We are still awaiting a formal reply from the National Health Service and the Health Ministry concerning collaboration with the controversial Odrex clinic. However, as it stands, the scenario suggests the National Health Service is reluctant to clarify the level of funding and the criteria by which a clinic facing ten criminal cases continues to secure public funds. Dismissing a request within a context of evident public attention could signify not a mere administrative lapse, but a disinclination to address uncomfortable queries. Because if the determination is transparent and justifiable, it is typically not concealed.