Former MP Anatolii Hunko, currently serving his sentence for trading in influence at Correctional Colony No. 72 in Voznesensk, sought early release. His defense filed the relevant motion with the Voznesensk City-District Court in Mykolaiv Region, citing the former MP's health condition as grounds. The court denied the motion, based on the following:

• No deterioration. Hunko's diagnosis dates back to 2016, and the medical records show no significant worsening of his condition.
• Outpatient treatment is possible. According to the medical examination findings and testimony from physician witnesses, the former MP only requires outpatient monitoring and periodic testing — fully achievable within the colony.
• Treatment outside the colony. The absence of specialized units within State Criminal Enforcement Service facilities is not grounds for release. Current law allows civilian doctors to be brought in and convicts to be treated at Ministry of Health facilities. Hunko has already received consultations from specialists in Voznesensk, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv (via video link).

The court found that a serious illness alone gives the court discretion to release a convict, not an obligation to do so, and Hunko will therefore continue serving his sentence. The ruling can still be appealed within seven days — meaning today is the deadline — and it is not yet known whether the parties will do so.

Article 537 of the Criminal Procedure Code lists the matters courts resolve when enforcing sentences, including release from punishment due to illness. Under Article 539 of the CPC, such matters fall to the local court with territorial jurisdiction over where the convict is serving their sentence.

The HACC has no such authority over convicts, even though this problem is explicitly recognized in the State Anti-Corruption Program as preventing HACC from hearing cases within its own subject-matter jurisdiction.

As a result, the HACC can convict an official or MP of a corruption offense, yet an entirely different court decides whether to release that person from punishment on health grounds — leaving the HACC with no influence over the outcome. TI Ukraine has flagged this problem before, and it remains unresolved.

In 2023 Hunko and his accomplices deceived a businessman by offering him the use of 1,700 hectares of land belonging to a state enterprise under the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences. In return, they demanded a bribe of $221,000, of which $85,000 was to be paid upfront.

The MP has been serving his sentence since February 9, 2026, for a crime classified as a minor offense — trading in influence under Article 369-2(2) of the Criminal Code.

This is not the only criminal case involving Hunko. In February 2026, he was also placed under suspicion of misappropriating over UAH 30 million worth of crops from state enterprises.