Head of Odesa Regional Council convenes deputies for a session

The chairman of the Odesa Regional Council, Hryhoriy Didenko, has ordered to convene a regular meeting of the deputies on June 19.

This was reported by the press service of the regional council.

The agenda has not yet been fully formed and looks like a list of thematic sub-sections under which the relevant blocks of draft decisions will be formed:

• On the activities of the regional council and its bodies.
• On budget and finance.
• Targeted programs, concepts, and urban planning.
• On jointly owned objects of territorial communities of villages, towns, and
• and cities of the region.
• On land relations.
• On the establishment, liquidation, change of name, approval of charters of municipal enterprises and institutions, amendments to them, and their activities.
• Other issues within the competence of the regional council.
• Appeals of deputies.
• Deputies' inquiries.
• Miscellaneous.

Meanwhile, the Dumskaya media outlet, citing its own sources, stated that the Servant of the People party plans to remove Hryhoriy Didenko from the post of head of the Odesa Regional Council. His place may be taken by Odesa MP Oleksiy Leonov.

On April 22, the High Anti-Corruption Court began considering the merits of the case against Hryhoriy Didenko, head of the Odesa Regional Council, and Yulia Didenko, MP, on April 22. The couple is suspected of entering false information in their declarations worth more than UAH 8 million, but they do not admit their guilt.

According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the officials failed to disclose assets worth more than eight million hryvnias in their declarations for 2021-2023. In addition, prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit over almost five million hryvnias of assets that, according to the investigation, were acquired without confirmed income.

These include investments in apartments and the purchase of two cars. According to the investigation, in 2021-2024, the couple purchased property worth about UAH 5 million, including two Audi SQ8 cars (2021 and 2024) and cash contributions under contracts for the sale and purchase of property rights. An analysis of income and expenses shows that these assets could not have been acquired legally. Investigators believe that these expenses do not correspond to the declared financial capabilities of the spouses.

If found guilty, they may face a fine, community service, or restriction or imprisonment for up to two years with a ban on holding certain positions.

Кирило Бойко