Co-founder of Nova Poshta sharply criticized the 7 billion budget of the Ministry of Youth and Sports
28 February 21:24
Vladimir Poperechnyuk, co-founder of Nova Poshta, has publicly criticized the amount of funding allocated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports in 2025. According to him, this year’s budget for the ministry is almost UAH 7 billion, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to his post on social media.
The entrepreneur stressed that as a large taxpayer, he opposes such a distribution of funds.
“This year’s budget of the Ministry of Youth and Sports amounted to almost UAH 7 billion. As a taxpayer who paid UAH 16 billion last year, I am against half of it going to the ministry’s work,” he wrote.
Popereshnyuk argues his position based on the state of public finances and wartime priorities.
“First, there is not enough money in the budget, creditors are demanding tax increases, which will slow down the economy. Second, all the money today should go to weapons and the military. And most importantly, in my opinion, the state should not be involved in this activity,” he explained his position.
The businessman also believes that the sports industry in Ukraine is capable of functioning without budgetary support, citing the development of private infrastructure and sponsorship mechanisms.
“There are over two thousand fitness centers operating in the country, and people are successfully investing tens of billions in sports and their physical fitness without any state programs, support, or budgets. For professional athletes, there is the institution of sponsorship, patronage, marketing, and promotion,” he added.
The entrepreneur specifically mentioned world-class Ukrainian athletes—Elina Svitolina, Oleksandr Usyk, Vitali Klitschko, and Andriy Shevchenko—as examples of successful careers without the decisive role of state funding.
“The guys and girls who win on the world stage and bring glory to Ukraine, such as Svitolina, Usyk, Klitschko, and Shevchenko, do not need state support; on the contrary, they earn well themselves. Every athlete invests in their sporting and financial future and is responsible for their own success,” he said.
The entrepreneur spoke out against compulsory financing of sports careers at the expense of taxpayers, but allowed for an alternative model of support through voluntary contributions.
“Again, there is no need to tax Ukrainians so that someone can pursue a sports career. But if Ukrainians want to chip in with donations for the Olympics and our athletes, I will gladly support that!” concluded Volodymyr Poperechnyuk.
The Ukrainian team recently finished competing in the 2026 Olympic Games. As a result, Ukrainians won zero medals. This is the third time in history that this has happened: the same result was achieved in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010.
It should be noted that the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to allow six Russian and four Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2026 Winter Paralympics under their national flags was one of the most controversial on the international sports agenda.
