“Ukrposhta is losing money, but with millions in bonuses: a new scandal erupts around Smelyansky
2 April 2025 16:36
“Ukrposhta paid UAH 36.6 million in bonuses despite the company’s loss. MP Oleksiy Honcharenko wrote about this on his Telegram channel on April 2, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The parliamentarian received a response to his request from the State Audit Service.
It states that in 2022-2024, millions of bonuses were paid to the management of the national postal operator.
“This is despite the fact that the company is unprofitable and did not fulfill the planned financial indicators. It turns out that even with unprofitable operations, there is money for multimillion-dollar bonuses. Will anyone be held accountable for these decisions? Mr. Smelyansky, what do you think?” – goncharenko wrote.
Million-dollar bonuses at Ukrposhta: management responds
The company’ s CEO Ihor Smelyansky has already responded to Oleksiy Honcharenko’s post on Facebook. He left a comment.
“Mr. Oleksiy Honcharenko, I would answer you when you tell me where you got the money from. But if you take 36 million for 30 months, that’s 1.2 million per month for a team of 3,000 administrative staff. But math is not your thing,” Smelyansky wrote.
No repairs in the premises, parcels are lost: how Ukrainians assess the activities of Ukrposhta
In the comments to Oleksiy Honcharenko’s post, customers of the postal operator began to complain about the inoperative activities of Ukrposhta, low salaries for postmen and the neglect of offices on the periphery.
- They “deserve it”. They work “very hard”. My parcel from Zhytomyr to Kyiv went through Odesa. It took a week.
- This is looting during a terrible war. This is a crime.
- I am more interested in the number of the “management” into which those 36.6 million can be divided.
- And there is not a single postman left on the ground who used to deliver mail and pensions to people’s homes. Because no one wants to work there for the minimum wage they are paid.
- It’s called budget plundering for “cronies” during the war.
- Almost all Ukrposhta offices in our area have been closed, and a “mobile office” comes to our village once a week.
- Why doesn’t anyone check them? Ukrposhta can barely breathe, postmen are paid a pittance and run away.
- Last year, this shabby office lost two of my international shipments of quite a lot of money. I have been corresponding for over a year now, and they refuse to pay compensation.
- And the premises are neither repaired nor tidy, because everything goes to bonuses.
- That’s why the post office is non-profit, because of these bonuses. The work there is overwhelming.
See also: Forced charitable contributions at Ukrposhta: Smelyansky commented on the scandal
Dual citizenship, sale of outdated cars, and an incident with salaries: what conflicts Ukrposhta has gotten into before
Ihor Smelyansky, the head of the state-owned company Ukrposhta, has repeatedly become the central figure in various scandals, both image and management. Despite his efforts to modernize the company and switch to digital solutions, his communication style, management approaches and transparency issues have drawn sustained criticism from the public, journalists and even government agencies.
Communication incident in August 2023
One of the most discussed incidents occurred in August 2023, when a user of social network X (formerly Twitter) complained about the loss of a parcel sent through Ukrposhta. Smelyansky reacted publicly and harshly: he explained that the shipment was issued at a budget rate without tracking, and then added foul language to the comment, which caused a wide response. This case demonstrated how ill-considered communication by a top manager can exacerbate image risks even if the position is technically sound.
Conflict with the Ministry of Social Policy in March 2021
Back then, Ihor Smelyansky got into a public conflict with the Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna. The reason was the ministry’s statement that Ukrposhta had raised tariffs for the delivery of pensions. The head of the company denied the accusations, accusing the minister of lying and demanding an official apology.
Secrecy about salaries
The topic of Smelyansky’s salary is of no less interest in Ukrainian society. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he was one of the highest-paid officials in the country. According to open data, Smelyansky’s annual income exceeded UAH 19 million. However, after the war broke out, he stopped publishing information about his salary, citing security concerns. This decision drew criticism from citizens and anti-corruption organizations, as it was a state-funded structure.
Sale of Ukrposhta’s old cars in April 2024
In the spring of 2024, Ukrposhta initiated a large-scale sale of its outdated fleet – more than 500 vehicles were put up for electronic auction through the Prozorro.Sale platform. Smelyansky said that the proceeds from the sale would be used to upgrade the vehicles and partially for the needs of the Armed Forces. Despite the rational goals, a wave of discontent arose in society: some users perceived it as an attempt at hidden privatization, others as inappropriate PR.
The issue of dual citizenship
In addition, there has been a long-running controversy over Ihor Smelyansky’ s citizenship. In 2019, he publicly acknowledged that he had both Ukrainian and American citizenship. Since Ukrainian law does not recognize dual citizenship, journalists and lawyers regularly raise the question of the legitimacy of his tenure as head of a state-owned company. Smelyansky himself has not provided any official explanations on this matter.
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