The Ministry of Education and Science plans to change the head of the State Biotechnological University. Yevhen Hrytskov, Vice-Rector of the O.M. Beketov Kharkiv National University of Urban Economy, is planned to be appointed as the acting rector of SBU. UNN investigated what is wrong with Hrytskov's candidacy and what his love for the aggressor state has to do with it.
Who currently leads SBU and why it is a problem
The State Biotechnological University was established in 2021 as a result of the merger of four leading Kharkiv agricultural universities. The initiator of this process, under the pretext of optimizing the network of domestic higher education institutions, was People's Deputy Andriy Odarchenko.
Despite the legislative prohibition for parliamentarians to work concurrently, Odarchenko was eventually elected rector of the newly created SBU. At that time, the elections were held with numerous falsifications, which the candidates themselves confirmed. He tried to avoid problems with the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, and his contract was suspended, but de jure, he remained the acting rector.
In order not to lose control over the university and its financial flows, Odarchenko lobbied for the appointment of people under his control as acting rector of SBU. First, it was Ruslan Tykhonchenko, who worked in the position for less than a year and fled to Germany.
In his place, Odarchenko lobbied for Andriy Kudryashov, who still serves as acting rector of SBU and is, apparently, involved in schemes of withdrawing budget funds from SBU for personal enrichment.
Who will head SBU?
The issue of changing the university's rector has always been relevant, as the law directly prohibits Odarchenko from working anywhere else except the Verkhovna Rada. It became especially relevant after the court found Odarchenko guilty of bribery in 2024 and sentenced him to 8 years in prison. The verdict came into force in 2025, but the MP is currently hiding from justice in Hungary, whose government is known for its pro-Russian stance.
In university circles, as well as in the Ministry of Education and Science, it is well understood that Andriy Kudryashov is a man of the bribed MP. After all, as SBU employees say, he does not hide the fact that he constantly consults with Odarchenko on university management issues. Therefore, it is obvious that to pull the wool over people's eyes, they decided not only to terminate the contract with the fugitive bribe-taker but also with the acting rector.
According to UNN, Odarchenko is currently lobbying the Ministry of Education and Science for the appointment of Yevhen Hrytskov as the new acting rector of SBU, who, in addition to his university position, also works in the local self-government bodies of the Kharkiv Regional Council.
By the way, Hrytskov is closely acquainted with the former acting rector of SBU, Tykhonchenko, as they worked together in the Kharkiv Regional State Administration when it was headed by Oleksiy Kucher. It was probably Tykhonchenko who recommended the MP to pay attention to Hrytskov, whose political and ideological views coincide with Odarchenko's.
Love for the "Russian world"
Both Odarchenko and the candidate for the position of acting rector of SBU, Hrytskov, are known for their adherence to the "Russian world." The MP, for example, did not support, on the eve of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, on February 23, 2022, the vote in the Verkhovna Rada on the introduction of personal sanctions against Russian citizens who voted for the recognition of the self-proclaimed "DPR/LPR."
It is noteworthy that Odarchenko, in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, called the war an "extraordinary military situation."
In subsequent posts, the fugitive MP used words such as "war," "aggression," "martial law," "shelling," and "hostilities," but they were impersonal. The first clarification that the aggression against Ukraine was specifically Russian appeared on Odarchenko's official Facebook page only in September 2022.
In general, he occasionally mentioned the war in 2023. But in 2024 and 2025, there were no mentions of the shelling of his native Kharkiv or the war in general.
This may be a clear confirmation of the views of the bribed MP.
By the way, the new candidate for the post of acting rector of SBU, Yevhen Hrytskov, has a similar position. In Kharkiv, he is known as a supporter of the "Kharkiv Spring," when pro-Russian activists tried to seize the city in March 2014.
In addition, in 2015, he ran for the Kharkiv Regional Council from the political party "Opposition Bloc" but lost the elections.
But this did not stop Hrytskov; later, in 2018, he was seen in a joint photo with ex-MP Mykhailo Dobkin, who, along with other people from Ukraine, held a red flag. After this, Hrytskov was even summoned to the SBU for a preventive conversation regarding his pro-Russian sentiments.
Odarchenko also did not hide his pro-Russian sentiments in private conversations. In particular, in audio recordings made as part of the investigation into his case, he openly said that Kharkiv should be given to the Russians.
So, obviously, Hrytskov can become a "worthy" successor to Odarchenko in SBU and continue the "work" of the bribed MP, under his close supervision.
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