Deputy of Budanov Received a Lucrative Appointment – Suspicion

The government appointed Oleksii Sobolev as a member of the company’s supervisory board as the state’s representative

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine selected Deputy Head of the Office of the President Oleksii Sobolev as a member of the supervisory board of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine. This was reported by Hromadske with reference to the government order dated 6 August 2026.

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

Recall that at the end of July President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Sobolev as Deputy Head of the Office of the President. At that time the Office had been headed by Kyrylo Budanov for half a year.

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 JSC Prozorro.Sales.

Earlier Hromadske reported that over the past two years Sobolev received million-hryvnia fees for academic work at the private university Kyiv School of Economics (KSE). The official has lectured there since 2021. During that time the total amount of his academic fees from the university amounted to 4,52 million UAH. In particular, in 2025 he earned 1,81 million UAH at KSE.

KSE President Tymofii Milovanov told Hromadske that the official conducts classes in his free time from his main job. “Sobolev runs a macro workshop on weekends,” Milovanov said. Sobolev is also an honorary Professor of Practice at KSE.