The “Chesno” movement has published a list of freelance advisors to the Office of the President and its head, Kyrylo Budanov. Among them is the former leader of the Strong Ukraine party and Deputy Prime Minister during Yanukovych’s time, Serhiy Tigipko.
This was reported by the head of the Department for Citizens’ Appeals and Access to public information of the OPU in response to a request from the “Chesno” movement.
As noted, Tigipko was among Budanov’s three freelance advisors. He is known for supporting the so-called “dictatorial laws” on January 16, 2014, which became “one of the symbols of Yanukovych’s attempt to suppress the protests of Ukrainians.” In addition to political activities, Tigipko is the owner of the financial and industrial group “TAS”, which includes “Universal Bank”, which provides a license for Monobank.
In addition to Tigipko, Budanov’s non-staff advisors in the OPU are Andriy Yusov – a former representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, as well as Roman Devyatov – a former deputy chairman and member of the council of the Odessa regional organization of the “UDAR” party, which was then headed by Yusov.
Chesno noted that after the change in the leadership of the Office of the President in 2025, some of the advisors “formally dropped out of the team”, but later returned in a different status. In particular, Mykhailo Podolyak and Serhiy Leshchenko, who were freelance advisers to the head of the Office of the President under Andriy Yermak, became advisers to the Office of the President after personnel changes. At the same time, Viktoriya Strakhova and Ihor Veremiy remained freelance advisers.
Veremiy is an experienced economist and civil servant. In the 1990s and 2000s, he held key positions in the Ministry of Economy, and in 2014–2015 he worked as Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade. He also has diplomatic experience – he previously headed the trade and economic mission at the Embassy of Ukraine in Russia.
Strakhova is a specialist in finance and law. Since July 2019, she has represented the interests of the president on the supervisory board of JSC “Ukreximbank”.
“What all seven names have in common is not only their non-staff status, but also complete informational opacity. These people cannot be found on the official website of the President of Ukraine. There is no description of their functions, areas of work, reasons for appointment, what and to whom they advise. You can only find out about their existence by sending an official information request,” the “Chesno” movement emphasized.
