In Kirovohrad Region, Their Own "Carthage" — Mulenko Asks to Investigate Who Is Behind the Pressure on "Red Plowman"

A state agricultural enterprise, which has risen from the ruins to become one of the top three in Ukraine, is being destroyed by those who should defend it. This was stated at a press conference by Oleksandr Mulienko, head of the All-Ukrainian Movement “Publicity Against Corruption.” According to him, the history of the state enterprise “Chervony zemlerob” goes far beyond Kirovohrad region. Against the backdrop of the publicly released NABU facts in the “Carthage” case, this indicates the existence within law enforcement of a large criminal network.

“While the enterprise was being looted, driven into debt, and brought to bankruptcy, law enforcement paid no attention. Empty warehouses, broken tractors, fields overgrown with weeds, and debts of almost 80 million hryvnias did not alarm anyone. But as soon as the enterprise began paying taxes, reports, searches, and arrests rained down on it. This is not a coincidence. This is a scheme, and it has worked more than once,” Mulienko said. Rising from its knees was aided by forward contracts, which are common in agribusiness. The enterprise began repaying its debts to the state and in 2026 year it ranked third in Ukraine by yield among state-owned agricultural enterprises.

Mulienko reported that as soon as the first successes appeared, the National Police of Ukraine in Kirovohrad Oblast opened a criminal case under part 4 article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. “It all started with a report from an employee working in the system of the same Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police, who figures in the ‘Carthage’ case.” “Officer Oleksandr Shevchuk, for some reason, decided to present an ordinary advance payment under a forward contract as a sale of grain at reduced prices. What is this if not deliberate misrepresentation of facts and a service crime?” Mulienko asked. He said that when the fabricated nature of the “facts” became evident, Shevchuk filed a second report — about a “hidden” harvest of sunflowers, the supply of which had not even taken place yet. Of course, adequate evidence was not found again by the investigation. Such “perseverance,” in Mulienko’s view, may indicate a patronized character of the case.

“There is a suspicion that someone from above gave Shevchuk a task — to find any reason to again drive the ‘Chervony zemlerob’ into poverty and destroy its management. In due time we will name the surnames of those who stand behind this. Those who are so influential that they easily manipulate the investigation, the prosecutor’s office, and the courts, and even have the audacity to hint at supposed ties to the Office of the President,” the head of the anti-corruption Movement promised. Mulienko provided journalists with the following statistics: within the proceedings against the “Chervony zemlerob” there were obtained 64 court permits for investigative actions! This includes dozens of searches and seizures and even tapping of telecommunications networks. “I don’t remember the DSR staff doing anything like this toward defendants in the loudest corruption cases. But here, for some reason, ordinary farmers became worse for them than call centers and drug rings!” Mulienko exclaimed. The endless searches, seizures of grain and accounts are causing millions in losses: fields are not being cultivated, sowing is disrupted, taxes are not paid, and workers do not know whether they will receive wages.

A state asset, as an object of privatization, is depreciating day by day. But could this be the “secret mission” of this case? — the Movement leader invites reflection. “We see that a system is at work that sucks out all the juices from the state — from citizens, from business, from state enterprises. NABU is already unraveling this system from within. We also ask you to pay attention to the Kirovohrad region,” Mulienko stated. He insists: the situation with the “Chervony zemlerob” is not an isolated case but a widespread practice that leaves the country without a future, the economy without development, and during the war should be treated as a crime against national security. Mulienko reminded that it directly contradicts the obligations Ukraine took on its path to the EU. In a report for the year 2025 the European Commission specifically emphasized eliminating opportunities for manual influence on pre-trial investigations. Additionally, by NSDC decisions enacted by presidential decrees in 2024 and 2025 years, law enforcement was instructed to review restrictive measures against business entities, refrain from actions that block their work, and a moratorium on state interference in business activity was introduced. “Strangely enough, Kirovohrad region has turned into a zone free from law, where all these requirements do not apply,” Mulienko emphasized.

According to Mulienko, the Movement has already initiated a number of public and journalistic investigations. The Movement also appeals to NABU, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and relevant committees of the Verkhovna Rada with a demand to conduct an independent check of all circumstances of the proceedings, the justification of the investigative actions, and possible third-party influence on the investigation. “We are convinced that the state will give this a harsh and principled assessment,” summed up Oleksandr Mulienko.