Former director of a medical center stole computer equipment from a hospital in Kherson for the occupiers

The sentence against Eduard Sulzhik, the former head of a medical facility in Kherson, was increased following a review of the case by the appellate court. The court concluded that his collaboration with the occupying authorities was linked not only to supporting the aggressor state but also to personal gain.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

Eduard Sulzhik, director of the Kherson Regional Council’s “Phthisiopulmonological Medical Center,” was charged with aiding the enemy back in April 2024. According to the investigation, the man re-registered the medical facility in accordance with Russian laws and headed the institution established by the occupiers.

Investigators established that after the medical facility was seized, he organized its operations according to Russian rules. He ensured that salaries were paid in Russian rubles, supported the introduction of the Russian currency in the occupied territory, and ordered the removal of Ukrainian state symbols from the building.

In the fall of 2022, carrying out an order from the occupying administration regarding the so-called “evacuation,” he organized the removal of the medical center’s property to the temporarily occupied city of Kalanchak. This included 13 laptops, six tablets, cell phones, a headset, headphones, and other computer equipment.

Subsequently, in January 2023, the occupiers appointed the man as the head of the so-called “Kalanchak Central District Hospital,” established on the premises of the seized Ukrainian medical facility. The court ruled that, in doing so, he aided the Russian Federation’s healthcare system in the occupied territory of the Kherson region.

In March 2026, the court found Eduard Sulzhik guilty and sentenced him to 11 years in prison without confiscation of property. The prosecutor appealed the ruling, noting that he had been receiving a salary. As a result, the court ordered the confiscation of all his property.

The appeals court also increased the sentence handed down in absentia to the political analyst for Medvedchuk’s TV channels from 10 to 15 years in prison, with confiscation of property. The convicted man will begin serving his sentence from the date of his arrest. 

Анна Бальчінос