A doctor from Mykolaiv was ordered to wear an ankle monitor in a case involving the sale of disability benefits

In Mykolaiv, a court extended the procedural obligations of an orthopedic surgeon who, along with a fellow surgeon, is suspected of organizing a scheme to issue fraudulent disability certificates to men of draft age.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

According to investigators, in the fall of 2025, surgeon Arkady Bondarchuk, who was a member of the expert team assessing daily functioning at the Municipal Emergency Medical Care Hospital, offered a man disability status in the third category without legal grounds. Initially, he demanded $12,000 for this, but later agreed to $11,000.

Investigators believe that the doctor enlisted the help of orthopedic traumatologist Zakhar Tkach to carry out the scheme. Tkach was supposed to prepare the medical documents, arrange for fictitious inpatient treatment, and issue a referral for an expert evaluation. Other medical professionals were also involved in the case, having entered false diagnoses into the documents.

Separately, investigators noted that the surgeon has been working at the city emergency hospital since 2014, and the orthopedic surgeon since 2017.

After the meeting, the doctor received the second installment of the bribe—six thousand dollars. As a result, the man was assigned a third-degree disability, which allowed him to avoid mobilization. According to the investigation, the doctors divided the money among themselves.

After his arrest in April 2026, Tkach was taken into custody but was released on bail of over 1.3 million hryvnias. The doctor did not admit guilt and refused to testify. The court extended the conditions of his release until September 30: he must appear when summoned, may not leave the Mykolaiv region without permission, must surrender his passport, wear an electronic ankle monitor, and may not communicate with the other suspect or the witness. In a separate ruling, the court extended the terms of the obligations imposed on surgeon Bondarchuk.

As Intent reported, one stage of the scheme involved instructing the client: before appearing before the commission, he was taught how to simulate symptoms of various illnesses. 

Анна Бальчінос