On August 26, a press release was published on the website of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine thanking pharmaceutical manufacturers for the humanitarian aid they provided. This refers to pharmaceutical companies involved in providing medications to soldiers and residents of Donbas.
What is surprising, however, is that this press release is primarily devoted to the activities of the Kharkiv company "Zdorovye," which is owned by Alexander Shishkin, a member of the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council of Russia and a representative of the United Russia party.
It is stated that his companies provided a wide range of medications worth UAH 894,996.77. However, other major companies, whose assistance to the ATO zone already amounts to millions of hryvnias, are mentioned very briefly. Among them are the Borshahiv Chemical and Pharmaceutical Plant, the Arterium Corporation, INTERKHIM, Infuziya CJSC, the Krasnaya Zvezda Chemical and Pharmaceutical Plant, Farmak OJSC, the Darnitsa Pharmaceutical Firm, Lekhim-Kharkiv, and many others.
It's worth remembering that Kharkiv's Zdorovye is known not only for its controversial owner, close to the Kremlin's secret service, but also for its production of pharmaceutical drugs. Zdorovye once held the palm for tramadol sales. Recently, the company has become a leader in the sale of codeine-containing medications and annually expands its range, including over-the-counter products (Codeterp, Codefemol, Pentased). Codeine, an opium alkaloid, is known to be similar in effect to morphine.
Clearly, with such development priorities, a pharmaceutical company needs constant anti-crisis PR. As it turns out, the press release on the Ministry of Health's website is just one part of a massive campaign to whitewash the image of the Russian businessman's company. The head of the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs, Mykhailo Pasechnik, is also following the company's development with interest, as evidenced by his visit to Kharkiv and the laudatory report on the agency's official website.
It is no coincidence that the pharmaceutical company "Zdorovye" is the only one in its industry to launch a TV commercial advertising its assistance in the ATO zone on national television.
However, among volunteers working to provide medical supplies to soldiers and residents of the ATO zone, opinions about the Zdorovye company are mixed. They believe the pharmaceutical company's humanitarian aid does not contain truly effective medications. For example, Zdorovye refused to provide painkillers to ATO soldiers.
"Shishkin has more than one company. Look at the activities of the entire group! They only supply the ATO zone with what's 'cheap and cheerful.' And it's just a PR stunt! They need this to prevent a boycott of Russian goods," said one of the volunteers.
The situation is quite understandable. What's surprising is the conditions under which the Ministry of Health and the State Service of Ukraine for Medicines and Drug Control engaged in a PR campaign on behalf of the Russian pharmaceutical industry.
Spirin Dmitry Anatolyevich, Elite of the Country
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