Illya Yemetz

Illia Mykolayovych Yemets (; born 21 February 1956 ) is a Ukrainian physician and politician and twice appointed Minister of Healthcare.

During his tenure as Minister of Health, Yemets faced strong criticism over controversial statements about elderly people during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine and allegations that he delayed centralized procurement of protective equipment and medicines.

From December 2010 to May 2011, Yemets served as Minister of Healthcare.

On 4 March 2020 Yemets was again appointed Minister of Healthcare. Ukraine's Parliament dismissed him on 30 March 2020.

Honored Doctor of Ukraine.

Criticism

Yemets was repeatedly criticized during his tenure as Minister of Health of Ukraine in March 2020, particularly for his public statements and actions (or alleged inaction) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine.

The statement caused widespread public attention and criticism.

Yemets urged businesses and financiers to support younger Ukrainians in combating the virus rather than spending money on treating people over the age of 65. He stated that the average life expectancy of Ukrainian men was approximately 65 years and called for authorities to “calculate how much funding should be allocated to living people, not corpses”.

On 19 February 2020, before any cases of COVID-19 had been officially recorded in Ukraine, the government allocated UAH 67 million for emergency procurement. However, the agreement with Crown Agents Ukraine was signed only on 26 March 2020, more than five weeks later. During this period, doctors reportedly had to purchase protective equipment themselves, while local authorities, businesses and volunteers partially covered the shortages. Former acting Health Minister Ulana Suprun also supported these allegations.

The dispute resulted in police investigations involving Zhumadilov, which critics described as pressure against him. In response, Yemets initiated an internal investigation. According to the investigation, during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, part of the equipment and patients were evacuated to Lviv.

Family wealth and financial declarations

In 2020, shortly before being appointed Minister of Health, Yemets purchased a mansion in Kozyn, Kyiv Oblast, with an area of more than 400 m² together with a land plot for approximately UAH 12.5 million.

In 2022, Yemets declared record income exceeding UAH 13.7 million, a significant portion of which consisted of fees paid by the Georgian company Max Express LLC.

On 13 June 2026, the anti-corruption outlet StopCor reported that the Telegram channel Harley Quinn had published video footage which, according to the publication, originated from surveillance cameras. One video allegedly shows a man resembling Yemets embracing and kissing a woman. Another reportedly shows conduct that the publication characterized as inappropriate toward a subordinate.

According to UNIAN, Yemets, who at the time headed the Scientific and Practical Medical Center of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, left Ukraine four days before the start of the invasion, leaving the institution and its patients behind, and remained abroad while Kyiv was under threat. The publication reported that he later returned to Ukraine. As of the publication of the report, there had been no official confirmation of these allegations.

The publication also drew attention to members of Yemets’ family. According to the report, his son, while employed in public service, maintained his social media accounts in the Russian language. Yemets’ wife, Oleksandra Telehuzova, a physician, was reported to have studied at a university in Moscow. The report also noted that Telehuzova’s father had previously appeared in media reports in connection with his detention on suspicion of accepting a bribe of UAH 2.5 million.