"No polite words for this". Hetmantsev says 400 illegal gas stations found in Ukraine

As of May 2025, there were more than 400 illegal gas stations operating in Ukraine, the chairman of the Parliamentary Tax Committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, said on Wednesday following a committee meeting.

More than half of these unlicensed fuel outlets are located in five regions: Lviv, Odesa, Kyiv, Dnipro, and Ivano-Frankivsk.

After the committee appealed to the Bureau of Economic Security and the National Police, law enforcement officers conducted inspections, seized fuel, initiated the revocation of some licenses, and even dismantled equipment at a number of "barrels." However, in practice, the situation has hardly changed.

"My assistants checked 46 gas stations. I sent appeals to the National Police, the BES, and the Tax Service. I received answers, but even from the answers I do not understand what is happening. Of the 15 gas stations that, according to your own testimony, operate without a license, only two have been closed. 28 gas stations are not issuing receipts – and what's next?" Hetmantsev addressed law enforcement officials at the committee meeting.

Hetmantsev harshly criticized the work of law enforcement agencies, questioning their competence and integrity.

"If this barrel is operating without a license and does not cash checks, why is it not noticed? Either law enforcement officers are unprofessional or they are in on the action, i.e. they will receive money for the operation of this barrel," said the head of the committee .

"Yes, somewhere in some village there may be a barrel where they secretly pour it for themselves and their neighbors at night, and no one sees it. Then there are no questions. But this is obvious, open, brazen, in front of everyone. And it is confirmed by video recordings. Sorry, there are no censored words," he added.

The Committee plans to prepare a relevant decision based on the results of consideration of this issue.