Former ‘hospitalist’ spent charity money on gambling and travelling: what is known about Admiral Nyav
Ukraine’s most famous medical battalion, the Hospitallers, is at the centre of a scandal over the use of funds raised. A former employee of the charity, who organised fundraisers to help the military, was found to have used the donations for gambling and personal recreation. The hromadske newspaper conducted an investigation into this situation, gathering all the details of the incident.
The story of this scandal began in the summer of 2024, when netizens began to notice suspicious details. The bulk of the events took place on Twitter (now known as X), through which Anna Skolbushevska, known as Admiral Niamh, regularly announced fundraisers.
Since 2022, Anna has been a fundraiser for the Hospitallers and received a salary from the foundation. She also worked as a paramedic and travelled to the war zone, which earned her popularity on social media. In particular, Skolbushevska participated in the creation of the Austrian medical evacuation bus, which the Hospitallers are proud of. Thanks to her activities and friendly relations with activists, she gained a high level of trust among the community, which allowed her to successfully organise fundraising for her accounts.
How the scandal began
At the end of June, attentive users of X noticed suspicious transactions on her accounts. For example, UAH 3,000 was withdrawn from a fundraiser for turnstiles without explanation, and UAH 166,000 was withdrawn from a fundraiser for blood transfusion systems for Solomenskyi Koshkyi without any report. To encourage the donors, the organisers of the collection promised to draw a certificate for the Stop the bleed course, but after the collection was closed, the promised draw was not held, which raised many questions among people. In response to numerous inquiries, Anna promised to provide a report in a few hours, but then disappeared.
The longer she did not get in touch, the more doubts about her honesty began to circulate. The Solomensky Kotiks Foundation assured that it fully trusted Anna as a friend of the foundation, so it hoped for her explanation. However, even people close to her had questions. Writer Yevhen Lir later said that for five days, many people tried to contact Anna, but she could not be reached, and even attempts to come to her home did not yield results.
Severance of relations with the Hospitallers
In the wake of the scandal, the Hospitallers officially announced that Anna Skolbushevska had stopped working for the foundation in December 2023, although she continued to go on rotations as a paramedic. This information was surprising, as Skolbushevska continued to indicate her affiliation with the foundation on her social media and even organised meetings, claiming that they were necessary for her crew.
In May, she travelled around Europe, claiming that this visit would bring in over 100,000 euros to help Ukraine. At the same time, she promised to return to her rotations in June.
Against the backdrop of the scandal, the Hospitallers announced an internal investigation, promising to make the results public.
