The medical battalion “Hospitallers,” comprising volunteer paramedics, is facing serious allegations regarding the use of funds raised through donations. Accusations circulating on social media claim that money has been regularly withdrawn from donation boxes intended for the unit’s needs, with no transparency in how these funds have been utilized.
Critics assert that the organization lacks a single officially registered fund, instead operating through multiple legal entities, including limited liability companies and charitable foundations that are interconnected. Furthermore, users on social media allege that two legal entities based in the United Kingdom have collected approximately £1.3 million, yet no financial reports detailing the use of these funds have been made public.
Journalist Olena Khudetska reported that addresses for cryptocurrency wallets used for donations have reportedly begun disappearing from the “Hospitallers” website. Despite this, some users managed to save the addresses and later claimed that around $210,000, or over 9 million hryvnias, had been withdrawn from all the wallets listed on the site, with no accountability provided by the battalion.
In response to these allegations, battalion commander Yana Zinkevich stated that she supports the right of every donor to know how their contributions are spent. She mentioned that she was preparing a post for March 9 regarding the purchase of a new base for the “Hospitallers,” which was announced in 2025 after the battalion’s previous base in Pavlograd was destroyed by Russian forces.
“I prepared a post about this joy for Monday. However, I will share it now: the area is 6,000 square meters. We have already replaced 150 windows, which cost 2 million hryvnias. I paid 561,680 dollars for the base, along with taxes and notary fees. We had to borrow some funds, but we managed to do it!” Zinkevich wrote.
Regarding the various legal entities allegedly associated with the “Hospitallers,” Zinkevich noted that some of these organizations were unknown to them until recently.
At the same time, Zinkevich admitted that public reporting for certain periods has indeed not been complete due to “extremely high operational loads and the complex logistics of our work.”
“We are currently systematizing financial data to prepare a consolidated report. The process is taking longer than we would like, especially since some documents need to be reconstructed after our base in Pavlograd was destroyed,” she added.
She also mentioned that the “Hospitallers” are working on optimizing the organization’s structure and implementing transparent management and funding mechanisms.
Founded in 2014 by Yana Zinkevich, the “Hospitallers” is a Ukrainian volunteer medical battalion dedicated to saving the lives of injured soldiers on the front lines. With the motto “For Every Life!” paramedics provide first aid and evacuate soldiers from the most dangerous areas. As of 2025, the unit has saved over 38,000 military personnel.
The "Hospitallers" battalion faces allegations of financial mismanagement and lack of transparency in fund usage. Commander Yana Zinkevich has acknowledged some reporting shortcomings and is working to improve accountability.