According to sources, Oleksiy Chernyshov, the chairman of the board of NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine," is being considered as a candidate for the position of head of the Ministry of Unity of Ukrainians. UNN has gathered information about the prospective minister.
Details
Oleksiy Chernyshov has previously worked in the government, heading the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development from 2020 to 2022. Prior to that, from 2019 to 2020, he served as the head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration. Chernyshov has over 20 years of experience in the private sector in Ukraine and abroad, in the fields of finance, investment, investment banking, real estate, and IT. Currently, he is the chairman of the board of NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine."
Career path and scandals
In the early 2000s, Chernyshov began working at the "AVEC" concern, founded by the influential Kharkiv businessman and Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksandr Feldman.
Chernyshov worked for his company for a long time and even served as the chairman of the supervisory board of the "AVEC" concern.
Later, he ventured into the investment business. In 2012, he founded the investment and development company Eastgate Development, whose activities focused on the development of large-scale commercial real estate projects.
In 2014, he founded the Kyiv Vision Foundation, an organization aimed at promoting Ukraine in Europe through contemporary Ukrainian art.
From 2017 to 2019, he was the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian Real Estate Club (URE Club).
In 2024, Chernyshov was involved in a scandal. In the summer, journalists from "Ukrainska Pravda" claimed that NABU detectives did not search the chairman of the board of "Naftogaz" Chernyshov at the request of NABU director Semen Kryvonos as part of the investigation into the embezzlement of funds from the "Great Construction" project.
Journalists reported that the case in which searches were to be conducted concerned the alleged receipt of a bribe by Chernyshov and his entourage from the owner of the KSM Group of companies – developer Serhiy Kopystyra. The court ruling states that officials of the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development, during the period when it was headed by Chernyshov, could have been involved in the illegal transfer of a plot of land to Kopystyra for the construction of the Kvitky Ukrainy residential complex at 43 Tyraspolska Street.
One of the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy informed UNN that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine is investigating not only the period when Oleksiy Chernyshov was the Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, but also his activities as the head of NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine." At the same time, other officials from Chernyshov's inner circle are also under the scrutiny of law enforcement.
Journalist Mykhailo Tkach stated that NABU opened criminal proceedings under Article 387 of the Criminal Code regarding the leak of the search warrant for Chernyshov.
This summer, Chernyshov was allegedly supposed to be appointed to the Cabinet of Ministers for the second time and receive the position of Vice Prime Minister. However, according to media reports, it was the NABU story that thwarted these plans.
Ministry of Unification of Ukrainians: what is known
As sources informed UNN, the chairman of the board of NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine" Chernyshov is being considered as a candidate for the position of head of the Ministry of Unity of Ukrainians.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a candidate for the head of the Ministry of Unification of Ukrainians would be presented for approval by the end of this year.
The President, speaking about the plans to create a new ministry, indicated that it should ensure sufficient strength of global Ukrainian unity.
Millions of our people in other countries, their ties and relations with Ukraine, the protection of our common interests as a nation - all this will be the responsibility of the new institution. In fact, it should be a ministry of Ukrainian unity and countering Russian influence on Ukrainians. First of all, abroad
The head of state spoke about the creation of a new government structure during the presentation of the "Resilience Plan" in the Verkhovna Rada in November of this year.
Ukraine needs institutional strengthening of its policy towards Ukrainians abroad, towards our people from all waves of migration. We must create a central executive body - the Ministry of Unification of Ukrainians
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that the main goal of the Ministry of Ukrainian Unity is to bring 7.5 million people back to Ukraine not by coercion, but by prospects. For this, work needs to be done both at the political level with the political leadership of partner countries that have accepted refugees, and directly with the Ukrainian community.