Ліки мають протипоказання.

Because ліки is normally a plural-only noun in Ukrainian when it means medicine / medication.

So Ukrainian says:

• ці ліки
• ліки допомагають
• ліки мають...

That is why the verb is plural too.

If you want a clearly singular countable word, Ukrainian often uses something like:

• препарат = a drug / preparation
• лікарський засіб = medicinal product
• таблетка = tablet

So ліки can refer to medication in general, even though grammatically it behaves like a plural noun.

Мають is the 3rd person plural form of мати = to have.

Because ліки is grammatically plural, the verb must also be plural:

• ліки мають = the medicine/medications have

Compare:

• препарат має = the drug has
• ліки мають = the medication/medicines have

A useful mini-paradigm:

• я маю = I have
• ти маєш = you have
• він / вона / воно має = he / she / it has
• ми маємо = we have
• ви маєте = you have
• вони мають = they have

Here it means simply have.

Мати can sometimes express obligation, but usually only when followed by an infinitive:

• Я маю йти. = I have to go.

In your sentence, мають is followed by a noun:

• мають протипоказання

So this is ordinary possession, not obligation: have contraindications.

It is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of мають.

The verb мати normally takes an object in the accusative:

• мати час = to have time
• мати досвід = to have experience
• мати протипоказання = to have contraindications

The reason the form looks unchanged is that for many inanimate neuter nouns, especially ones ending in -ння, the accusative looks the same as the nominative.

Good question: the form протипоказання can indeed look the same in nominative/accusative singular and nominative/accusative plural.

So the form alone does not fully tell you. Context does.

In a sentence like Ліки мають протипоказання, it is usually understood in English as:

• The medicine has contraindications, or
• Medicines have contraindications

depending on context.

So yes, this is one of those places where Ukrainian form is a bit less explicit than English.

It is the medical word for contraindication.

You can think of it as built from:

• проти- = against / counter-
• показання = indication

So literally it is something like counter-indication.

This is useful because you may also see:

• показання = indications
• протипоказання = contraindications

Yes. Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible.

The sentence as given:

• Ліки мають протипоказання.

is a neutral, natural order: subject + verb + object.

You could change the order for emphasis, for example:

• Протипоказання мають ці ліки.
• Ці ліки мають протипоказання.

These are still understandable, but the original version is the most straightforward and neutral.

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

LEE-ky MA-yut pro-ty-po-ka-ZAN-nya

A few pronunciation notes:

• ліки: stress on the first syllable
• мають: stress on the first syllable
• протипоказання: stress on -зан-

Also, -ння in протипоказання is pronounced with a soft, doubled n sound.

Yes. That is a very common source of confusion for English speakers.

Because ліки is grammatically plural in Ukrainian, it may still correspond in English to something that feels singular, such as:

• this medication
• the medicine

So depending on context, Ліки мають протипоказання might be translated more naturally as:

• The medication has contraindications

If you want a clearly singular Ukrainian subject, you could say:

• Препарат має протипоказання.

That removes the plural grammar.