Excessive pressure from law enforcement agencies and baseless criminal cases against business representatives are forcing businesses to shut down. Any talk of an investment climate in Ukraine can only happen after law enforcement begins to protect businesses. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive comment to UNN by People's Deputy Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk.
Combating pressure on business
Businesses in Ukraine are accustomed to working and surviving in extremely difficult conditions of war, constant shelling, tax pressure, and persecution by law enforcement. Such cases, according to Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk, Deputy Head of the Provisional Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada on investigating possible violations of Ukrainian legislation during state defense measures and People's Deputy, harm the interests of the state.
Excessive pressure from law enforcement, sometimes baseless initiation of criminal cases, not only fails to create an investment climate but even encourages the closure of businesses that previously operated in Ukraine.
Regarding the fight against pressure on business, the situation began to improve last year. The new team of the Prosecutor General's Office, led by Ruslan Kravchenko, declared its intolerance towards illegal pressure on entrepreneurs through baseless criminal prosecutions.
The "StopPressure" platform was also created – a direct communication channel between businesses and the prosecutor's office, where entrepreneurs can report attempts of illegal influence on them by law enforcement or control bodies.
As Svitlana Lytvyn, Deputy Head of the Department for Supervision of Law Enforcement by Bodies Combating Crimes in the Sphere of Protecting National and International Investments, Prosecutor General's Office, told UNN in an interview, as of February 5, 2026, 177 appeals were received through "StopPressure", of which 169 have already been reviewed.
As a result of the inspections, grounds for response were found in 36 cases, and measures were taken, which allowed for the prompt restoration of violated rights of entrepreneurs. In 8 criminal proceedings, decisions were ensured in accordance with Article 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. In some cases, we even received letters of gratitude for the work done, and posts on social networks. This testifies to the importance of the "StopPressure" portal for business. At the same time, in 133 cases, no grounds for response were found. This is mainly explained by the fact that the circumstances cited by the applicants were not confirmed or no signs of illegal pressure were found. The remaining reports are in progress – they are being carefully checked to ensure an objective and complete review.
The foundation has been laid, but the problem has not disappeared
Despite the work already done to stop pressure on businesses from law enforcement agencies, there are still cases of illegal persecution of entrepreneurs, including those working in strategically important sectors for the state.
A striking example in this context is the persecution of the "Konstanta" group of companies, which includes companies such as LLC "N3OPERATIONS", LLC "KSENA" and PJSC "Aviakompaniya Konstanta", operating in the aviation sector. This group of Ukrainian companies is one of the strongest players in the aviation market both in Ukraine and abroad.
As UNN reported, a number of criminal proceedings are being investigated against the "Konstanta" group, even a superficial study of which allows concluding their obvious custom nature.
Firstly, all cases were opened based on applications from the NGO "Council of ATO Veterans", which is associated with the main competitor of the "Konstanta" group - the company "Ukrainian Helicopters". Both are fighting for international air transportation contracts, including those for accompanying UN missions to African countries.
Secondly, applications were submitted to all possible law enforcement agencies at once, and the opened criminal cases have identical factual circumstances. For example, at the end of 2022, the National Police opened criminal proceedings No. 12022000000001276. Formally, it concerns alleged complicity with the aggressor state and misappropriation of property. The case was opened based on the application of the head of the NGO "Council of ATO Veterans" Pavlo Moshkovskyi.
In his statement, he spoke about a "conspiracy theory" allegedly aimed at weakening Ukraine's economic security and seizing strategic enterprises in the aviation industry, including SE "Antonov", which, by the way, remains state-owned. At the same time, over almost four years of investigation, no facts confirming these claims have been established.
Despite the fact that crimes of this category fall under the jurisdiction of the SBU, the proceedings were investigated by the Main Investigative Department of the National Police until 2025, after which they were transferred to the SBU.
Thirdly, the investigators in this case, as in a number of other criminal proceedings with equally obviously fabricated accusations, initiated large-scale searches, seizure of equipment, and arrest of company accounts, which effectively paralyzed economic activity and led to the disruption of contracts, including for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and international humanitarian missions. Obviously, this was the goal of opening criminal cases, and not a real search for the truth.
Similar criminal proceedings, opened by applications from the same NGO "Council of ATO Veterans" in the SBU and SBI, had previously been closed due to the absence of a crime. In addition, according to UNN, the SBU and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine officially confirmed the absence of grounds for applying sanctions against the "Konstanta" group of companies.
The companies emphasize that all foreign counterparties, particularly in the UAE, underwent strict international compliance, and no state bank recorded suspicious financial transactions.
It should be noted that PJSC "Aviakompaniya Konstanta" is a permanent official carrier for international humanitarian missions and non-profit organizations, and also fulfills orders for partner states, including NATO countries. The company is one of the leading operators of Antonov aircraft and the operator of the largest fleet of An-26s, which makes it an important part of Ukraine's aviation capabilities. The enterprise has established a full cycle of maintenance for aircraft manufactured by SE "Antonov".
Since 2019, the company has been an official UN partner and holds EASA TCO, UK TCO, and US FAA certificates, confirming its compliance with international requirements. The group's airlines also regularly undergo UN inspections and audits as part of contractor selection and oversight procedures.
In addition, the group's airlines have the status of critically important enterprises for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the livelihoods of the population during a special period, granted by the State Aviation Service. The airlines also have the status of critically important enterprises in the field of air transport, granted by the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine.
Lawyers interviewed by UNN indicate that such activity by law enforcement has all the hallmarks of a custom-ordered persecution aimed at pressuring businesses. Obviously, law enforcement has become a tool in competitive wars, which are gradually escalating into a threat to national security.
Baseless pressure on business worsens the investment climate
According to People's Deputy Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk, the state should create proper conditions for doing business primarily for domestic enterprises, and only then for foreign companies.
Any talk of an investment climate can only happen when law enforcement agencies protect business and the law, rather than exerting additional pressure to force businesses to cease operations in Ukraine. This is a sad reality, and unfortunately, even the laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada prohibiting inspections do not yield the desired result. Businessmen and investors continue to complain about excessive pressure.
Thus, despite the first steps towards systemic counteraction to illegal pressure on entrepreneurs, the problem of selective and competitively motivated persecution of businesses remains relevant. Individual cases of persecution of strategic enterprises, such as the "Konstanta" group, indicate that the law enforcement system has not yet fully shed the practice of using criminal tools as a lever of influence.