In Ukraine, the consideration of one of the most high-profile medical negligence cases in recent years continues. On the defendants' bench are doctors from the Odesa private clinic Odrex, Vitaliy Rusakov and Maryna Belotserkovska; they are accused under Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – improper performance of professional duties by a medical worker, which could have caused serious consequences for the patient. This concerns the death of businessman Adnan Kivan during treatment at the Odesa clinic. Against the backdrop of public discussions surrounding the "Odrex Case," we decided to take a closer look at who these doctors are, what careers they have built, and what position they take regarding the trial; read the details in the UNN material.
The case regarding the death of Adnan Kivan is at the stage of transitioning to the investigation of the medical component of the proceedings: analysis of medical documentation, expert findings, and hearing from an independent expert oncologist. It is at this stage that the court must receive a professional assessment of the accused doctors' actions, the compliance of the treatment with medical protocols, and the causal link between the actions of the medics and the patient's death.
The court was supposed to move to the examination of medical evidence several weeks ago. However, the defense of the accused surgeon from the "Odrex" clinic filed a motion to change the court. As Oleksandr Dimohlov, the lawyer for the victims' side, told UNN, the Odesa Court of Appeal granted the motion and decided to transfer the criminal proceedings regarding Rusakov and Belotserkovska from the Prymorskyi District Court to the Kyivskyi District Court of Odesa.
Amidst the high-profile trial and public discussions surrounding the "Odrex Case," the UNN editorial board decided to look deeper into who Vitaliy Rusakov and Maryna Belotserkovska are, what careers they have built, what they were responsible for during Adnan Kivan's treatment, and what position they take during the trial.
Vitaliy Rusakov, accused surgeon of the "Odrex" clinic
The accused Vitaliy Rusakov is one of the most public doctors at the Odrex clinic. On the medical facility's website, he is positioned as a surgeon, oncological surgeon, endoscopist, and head of surgical department No. 2. His main profile is minimally invasive surgery, oncological surgery, bariatric operations, and the treatment of complex clinical cases.
Rusakov graduated from Odesa National Medical University in 2017. He completed his internship at several medical institutions in Odesa and the region. The doctor's professional resume includes: an internship at the Heart Institute of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the German Sachsenhausen Hospital Frankfurt Main, participation in international conferences, and specialized courses in endoscopy and oncological surgery. Obviously, for a potential patient, such a biography automatically builds a high level of trust in the doctor and creates the impression of a specialist with serious professional experience.
And not without reason, as it is evident that in recent years Rusakov actively worked on his public image as a modern "progressive" doctor – speaking at conferences, regularly appearing in Odrex PR videos, and actively maintaining his own social media accounts.
In private medicine, such media presence directly affects the cost of a doctor's services: the more recognizable and "promoted" a specialist is, the more patients seek to see specifically them, and high demand automatically forms a higher bill for consultations and treatment.
However, publicity, recognizability, and a developed personal brand are not in themselves a guarantee of a doctor's professionalism. And it was the trial in the case of Adnan Kivan's death that became the moment after which more and more questions began to arise around Rusakov – not only regarding his public behavior but also regarding his role in the patient's treatment.
It all started with contradictions in the doctor's statements. Initially, Rusakov publicly emphasized that he allegedly "did not treat" Adnan Kivan during his last hospitalization. However, the position later changed; already in court and in vlogs, the doctor effectively admitted that he performed medical manipulations on the patient, meaning he was involved in the treatment process.
Against this background, a key question arises, which the court must now investigate: if Rusakov was one of the medics who treated the patient, should he have noticed the development of sepsis in Adnan Kivan after the operation, as mentioned in the forensic medical examination findings?
Special attention is also drawn to Rusakov's behavior outside the courtroom. To readers following the development of the case, it may seem that the doctor is trying to gain media recognition from the case of his patient's death. He regularly records YouTube vlogs about the progress of the trial, publicly comments on case materials, criticizes the prosecutor, the court, and the media, and also calls on the audience to subscribe more actively to his social networks.
Furthermore, in his videos, Rusakov has repeatedly voiced details of the deceased patient's treatment – including information about health status, therapy methods, and chemotherapy courses. Lawyers and medical advocates have already pointed out that such public statements may contain signs of violation of medical secrecy and professional ethics of the "Odrex" clinic doctors.
In addition, the doctor systematically tries to present himself not as an accused in a specific criminal proceeding, but as a victim of an "attack on all of medicine." In his vlogs, Rusakov stated that a possible guilty verdict in his case could allegedly cause a "collapse" of Ukrainian medicine and lead to doctors refusing to treat "complex" patients. Experts, however, emphasize that criminal liability in such cases is always individual and does not mean a "verdict for the entire system."
Maryna Belotserkovska, accused oncologist, already dismissed from the "Odrex" clinic
Another accused in the case, Maryna Belotserkovska, is a much less public figure but no less important in the case of Adnan Kivan's death. It was she who was responsible for the patient's oncological treatment.
Belotserkovska has significantly more professional experience than her colleague in the criminal case – over 20 years in clinical oncology. She graduated from the Minsk State Medical Institute, after which she worked for almost a quarter of a century at the N.N. Alexandrov Republican Scientific and Practical Center of Oncology and Medical Radiology in Minsk. Later, she worked as an expert oncologist in Batumi, and in 2020-2025 at the Odrex clinic; she was dismissed almost immediately after Adnan Kivan's death. Currently, Belotserkovska consults cancer patients at the Denis clinic.
Belotserkovska's main profile is conducting polychemotherapy, supporting cancer patients, and correcting treatment complications. This is one of the most complex and responsible areas of medicine, where any mistake or delayed response can have critical consequences for the patient.
Unlike Rusakov, Belotserkovska behaves with maximum restraint during the trial. She regularly appears at hearings, does not record vlogs, does not comment on the case on social media, does not criticize the court, and does not try to turn the high-profile trial into a personal PR campaign.
Belotserkovska also did not feature in procedural conflicts or attempts to delay the consideration of the case. Against this background, the impression is created that, unlike Rusakov, she is much more aware of the seriousness of the situation and her own role in the case of the patient's death.
Moreover, the Adnan Kivan case is not the only high-profile story in which Belotserkovska's name is mentioned. As Khrystyna Totkaylo, one of the founders of the StopOdrex movement, told UNN, it was Maryna Belotserkovska who treated her father, who was diagnosed with cancer. According to the woman, the family first turned to doctors at Kyiv's "Feofaniya," where medics considered aggressive chemotherapy too dangerous for the patient. However, later Maryna Belotserkovska's husband, who participated in the Feofaniya consultation, convinced the family to turn to Odrex.
According to Khrystyna Totkaylo, at the "Odrex" clinic, the family was promised that they would save her father's voice and larynx. So, despite Belotserkovska prescribing him a risky aggressive 5-day course of chemotherapy, the patient agreed.
Subsequently, Khrystyna Totkaylo's father developed severe complications, his condition deteriorated sharply: kidney problems began and severe mucosal lesions appeared. The family is convinced that the treatment prescribed by Belotserkovska was erroneous. Moreover, Khrystyna said that when her father was in critical condition, she tried to contact the treating oncologist to get advice on how to proceed. However, Belotserkovska did not get in touch. Khrystyna's father died.
There is no legal assessment of this tragedy yet, and Belotserkovska herself has not publicly commented on it. However, the very fact that her name appears in at least two high-profile stories about the deaths of cancer patients inevitably raises additional questions both for the doctor herself and for the quality control system of treatment in private medicine.
Instead of conclusions
Ultimately, it is the court that must answer the main question of the high-profile "Odrex Case" – whether there were errors in the doctors' actions, violations of treatment protocols, and a direct causal link between their actions and the death of Adnan Kivan. And the key role in this process will be played not by public statements, PR vlogs, or media campaigns, but by medical documentation, expert findings, assessment of the doctors' actions, and the factual circumstances of the patient's treatment.