I freaked out, honestly," this is how the NSDC minister, former interior minister Ihor Kalimenko, responded to the mention of his name in the NABU tapes in the "Carthage" affair. On records in the recordings, the participants discussed how to negotiate with the head of the Ministry of Interior at the time in order to prevent a ban on the chemical formulas of the U420 products. In a conversation with journalists, Kalimenko said that no one approached him with such proposals, and there were no people in his circle through whom he could be influenced. When pressed on the minister, Kalimenko called the talks about him a "battle between two criminals". He also stated that Himprom tried to put pressure on officials through threats, forgeries and smear campaigns. In particular, a network of Telegram channels and news sites was created for this purpose, and within the framework of this campaign, graffiti was used with calls for his release, even though they referred to a fatal shooting in the Holusivsky district. On dealing with U420 According to Klimenko, the police started proceedings regarding U420 in September 2025, and in April 2026 conducted several hundred searches. After that, not a single store of the chain returned to operation. Klimenko stated that the "Mexican" (a Russian who created the so-called transnational drug cartel "Himprom", fled Russia and continued his "business" affairs in Ukraine) should be found and brought back to Ukraine. His whereabouts are currently unknown. Radio Liberty.

I freaked out, honestly," this is how the NSDC minister, former interior minister Ihor Kalimenko, responded to the mention of his name in the NABU tapes in the "Carthage" affair. On records in the recordings, the participants discussed how to negotiate with the head of the Ministry of Interior at the time in order to prevent a ban on the chemical formulas of the U420 products. In a conversation with journalists, Kalimenko said that no one approached him with such proposals, and there were no people in his circle through whom he could be influenced. When pressed on the minister, Kalimenko called the talks about him a "battle between two criminals". He also stated that Himprom tried to put pressure on officials through threats, forgeries and smear campaigns. In particular, a network of Telegram channels and news sites was created for this purpose, and within the framework of this campaign, graffiti was used with calls for his release, even though they referred to a fatal shooting in the Holusivsky district. On dealing with U420 According to Klimenko, the police started proceedings regarding U420 in September 2025, and in April 2026 conducted several hundred searches. After that, not a single store of the chain returned to operation. Klimenko stated that the "Mexican" (a Russian who created the so-called transnational drug cartel "Himprom", fled Russia and continued his "business" affairs in Ukraine) should be found and brought back to Ukraine. His whereabouts are currently unknown. Radio Liberty.