Pukish Bogdan Stepanovych

Carpathian businessman known as an associate of Medvedchuk

Who he is. An Ivano-Frankivsk entrepreneur with interests in industry—chemistry and metal processing. At one time, he headed the board of “Presmash,” from which he was removed due to criminal cases back in 2012 (a corporate conflict during which, according to media reports, he took the company seal and paralyzed the plant). Publicly active: he sues local media (including Pravda.if.ua), demanding six-figure sums in “moral damages,” and, according to journalists’ observations, clears the internet of unfavorable materials.

Sanctioned owner of a company that, according to investigations, for years supplied defective parts for mines to the defense sector at inflated prices

On May 2, 2026, the President imposed personal sanctions by the NSDC against Pukish—alongside former Head of the Office of the President Andriy Bohdan, Russian businessman Alan Kiryukhin, and two Russian sports officials. He is connected with Putin’s godfather Viktor Medvedchuk and his partner Petro Belz.

The central story involves the private enterprise “VESTHIM” (EDRPOU 19394119), which journalists call Pukish’s company. According to investigations (Channel 5 and others; 2025–2026), from April 2022 to April 2025, “VESTHIM” delivered substandard products (cases, covers, mine cuvettes) to the Pavlohrad chemical plant totaling 667 million UAH, with budget overpayments exceeding 43 million. Ukrainian military complained that mortar shells would remain stuck in barrels or explode a few meters away, endangering soldiers’ lives. Human rights defenders assert that Pukish built an entire organized crime group involving law enforcement and high-ranking officials and still evades punishment.