Budanov’s Deputy Received a “Fat” Appointment

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has selected the deputy head of the Office of the President, Oleksii Sobolev, as a member of the Supervisory Board of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine. This is reported by Glavkom, citing a government decree from 6 of August 2026, year.

According to the document, Sobolev will join Naftogaz’s supervisory board as a representative of the state.

As a reminder, at the end of July, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Sobolev deputy head of the Office of the President. At that time, the OP had been led for six months by Kyrylo Budanov.

Before moving to the Office of the President, Sobolev headed the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture. He participated in negotiations on the Ukraine Facility program and the “subsoil” agreement between Ukraine and the United States. Prior to that, he served as first deputy minister of economy and headed PJSC Prozorro.Sales.

Earlier, Glavkom reported that Sobolev had received multi-million hryvnia fees for scientific work at the private Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) over the past two years. He has been teaching there since 2021 year. During this time, the total amount of his scientific fees from the university amounted to 4,52 million UAH. In particular, in 2025 year he earned 1,81 million UAH at KSE.

KSE president Tymofiy Milovanov explained to Glavkom that the official teaches in his free time outside of his main duties. “Sobolev runs a macro workshop on weekends,” Milovanov said. Sobolev is also an honorary professor of practice at KSE.