Minister of Education and Science Lisovyi dismissed former MP-bribe-taker Odarchenko from the post of rector of the State Biotechnological University, but there's a nuance

The un-dismissed fugitive rector

According to UNN sources among the employees of the State Biotechnological University, Odarchenko is actively involved in the management of the SBU despite being "dismissed" a year ago. In particular, over the past week, he regularly contacted Kudryashov and other officials close to him at the university by phone and gave them instructions.

It is also interesting that only on October 30, 2025, the Academic Council of the State Biotechnological University removed Odarchenko from the post of chairman. But he was "dismissed" back in 2024, how is this possible?

Moreover, back in October of this year, the acting chairman of the Academic Council of the SBU, Valeriy Mykhailov, convinced UNN that the Ministry of Education and Science should terminate the contract with Rector Odarchenko due to the guilty verdict of the court. In the conversation, he confirmed that the bribe-taker Odarchenko remains the rector of the SBU.

"My position is: if there is a court decision, officially it will come to the university - a court decision, the issue of terminating these relations with him will definitely be considered. This is what I can say, it just shouldn't be like that unequivocally, if you want my position," Mykhailov noted.

He added that he had not seen the court decision, but knew about it from media publications.

"I read that something happened, but for this there is the head of the organization (acting rector of the SBU Andriy Kudryashov - ed.), who should stimulate this issue and talk about the fact that such an issue (termination of the contract with Odarchenko - ed.) should be considered, that there is some decision," Mykhailov noted.

Here the question arises: how is it that even Odarchenko's team at the university does not know that his contract was terminated a year ago? 

It seems that the investigators of the National Police of Ukraine should sort out this whole mess with the "dismissal", because the facts indicate a possible forgery of a document, which is a criminally punishable offense.

Elections of the rector of the SBU

Another question that arises against the background of Odarchenko's dismissal a year ago is why the elections of a new rector have not yet been held? After all, back in 2024, Oksen Lisovyi promised to terminate the contract with Odarchenko and immediately hold elections for a new rector of the SBU.

"The Kharkiv Oblast Defense Council decided to allow elections in the Kharkiv region (in higher education institutions - ed.), and all those universities that need it will gradually, step by step, enter the election process, including the Biotechnological University," Oksen Lisovyi stated then.

So it is interesting why the SBU did not enter the election process within a year, if, as the Ministry of Education and Science claims, the contract with Odarchenko was terminated a year ago?

Recall

Earlier, UNN reported that the State Biotechnological University has a salary arrears of more than 20 million hryvnias. This situation arose due to corruption related to hidden land leases, falsification of data on harvested crops, inflated prices during tender purchases, and laundering of funds through companies controlled by Odarchenko's people. All this is provided by the university's management team, which is completely controlled by the former MP-bribe-taker. Moreover, in violation of current legislation, they write out monthly bonuses of tens of thousands of hryvnias for themselves.