Ukrainian TV presenter and volunteer Serhii Prytula tried to defend Tymur Mindich after another wave of the “tapes” scandal. He stated that the recordings of conversations published by journalist Mykhailo Tkach do not contain confirmation that Mindich’s request to Umerov to facilitate the state acceptance of body armor for Ukrainian soldiers was fulfilled.
Source: OBOZREVATEL
Prytula said this in an interview with Yana Sokolova. His interpretation of the circumstances and figures involved in one of the most high-profile corruption scandals in recent years caused rejection and sharp criticism from part of Ukrainian society.
What Prytula said
In conversation with Sokolova, the TV presenter admitted that he had reviewed Mykhailo Tkach’s investigation, which published recordings of new conversations involving a figure from the “Midas” corruption scheme investigation — former co-owner of “95 Kvartal” and, as a “side role,” a close friend of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Tymur Mindich. However, according to Prytula, his review was “occasional.”
“I didn’t listen from ‘A’ to ‘Z’ to the whole episode. I watched it only in parts. The thing is, I prefer not to perceive things through the prism of first emotions, because they don’t always lead in a useful direction. I like comments to ‘settle down’ first, and then it’s possible to analyze. So my unhurried familiarization with the case is connected to the fact that I feel this storm around it — a lot of emotions, society is very agitated, and I would like to form my own unbiased opinion about what is happening, rather than rely on someone else’s,” Prytula said.
He then shared his “unbiased opinion” about the content of the recordings. First, Prytula hinted that he has doubts about the authenticity of the recordings.
“From what I saw and read: there is a situation where Mindich… a person presented as Mindich… This happens when you deal with not fully verified audio recordings or any other content. Although, as I understand, this is from the case,” he noted.
Prytula also focused on a conversation between individuals identified by Tkach as Mindich and the then Minister of Defense, now Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov. In it, Mindich allegedly asks to resolve the issue of body armor supplied by companies linked to him, which the state had not yet accepted.
Later, according to journalist Tetiana Nikołajenko, the Ministry of Defense conducted testing of the mentioned body armor and found them to be of inadequate quality, so they were never delivered to the military.
And according to Prytula, from this conversation it cannot be concluded that Umerov fulfilled the request.
“I saw and heard the request like: ‘sort it out regarding the body armor.’ But whether there is a confirming response that everything will happen — I don’t remember anything like that. So this is a question that remains hanging in the air. Any request can be made to any person. The other question is how a person reacts to it. If this request was not fulfilled, then it’s fine. But on the other hand — not entirely. If the investigation shows that it was a request with a corruption component, then perhaps it should have been followed by a report to the relevant anti-corruption bodies. So this is a domino story, when one fragment raises a lot of questions that can spill into other fragments,” the public figure said.
Reaction of Ukrainians
Among those who responded to Prytula’s views on the new “Mindich tapes” was Oleksii Honcharenko, a Member of Parliament from “European Solidarity.”
“I no longer have enough irony, I don’t even know what to write. The only thing that becomes clear thanks to Serhii Prytula is that there was no corruption, and it’s not Mindich on the tapes. Everything is very good, I believe in the strength,” he wrote.
Instead, Ukrainians in the comments found plenty to say.
“And what did you expect? That he would bite his own?”, “Serunya saw himself there. Clown 2”, “Well, Prytula and his gang are the second most ‘powerful’ party in the new parliament (a replacement for Holos and Samopomich), people here are foolish, they will vote”, “Did his satellite fall out of orbit or what?”, “All of Sirozha’s money flows are tied into the Mindich–Zelensky system. He’s not going to cut them off just to satisfy someone’s opinion of him”, “Why did he run away if he’s so innocent?” commentators write.
Many of those who left comments mentioned the satellite purchased several years ago by the Serhii Prytula Foundation, demanding: “let him explain where the satellite is and how much he earns from the war and volunteering.”
There were also references to his family ties with former Party of Regions member Vitalii Khomutynnyk (Prytula himself is married to the younger daughter of Kramatorsk businessman Viktor Sopelnyk, while Khomutynnyk is married to the elder one).
“And what can he say if five new foundations have already been laid in the ‘Dynasty’ cooperative — aren’t they for the Serhiis?”, “Clinton also first had to have his pants sniffed before saying he wasn’t guilty?”, “So, the tapes can’t be trusted. Then why did everyone run around with Derkach’s tapes?” the comments say.
Among the commenters, there were also a few who noted that as of May 2026, it has not been officially proven or confirmed in court that the voice on the scandalous recordings actually belongs to Mindich — however, judging by the number of dislikes, this argument did not resonate with most of those commenting on Prytula’s statement.
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