Mayor of Kilia suspended from office on suspicion of bribery

A court has removed from office the mayor of Kilia, Vyacheslav Cherniavsky, who is suspected of receiving undue advantage and creating obstacles to the implementation of a wind farm project in Odesa region.

This was reported by the Suspilne media outlet with reference to Inna Verba, head of the press service of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The Security Service of Ukraine has detained the mayor of Kiliya on suspicion of extortion of bribes during the modernization of the energy infrastructure of the southern region. The detainee tried to receive an unlawful benefit of USD 35 thousand from a representative of a company with foreign investments.

For this amount, the mayor allegedly promised international contractors unimpeded approval of permits for the construction of a wind farm in the port city. This project was supposed to be an alternative source of energy for residential development and social facilities of the local community. These included hospitals, schools, and kindergartens.

If proven guilty, the mayor faces imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years, with confiscation of property.

Viacheslav Cherniavskyi has been the mayor of Kilia, Izmail district, Odesa region, since November 2020. Prior to that, he was twice intermittently deputy mayor for executive bodies of the Kilia City Council and director of agricultural holdings.

He was born on February 7, 1987 in the village of Shevchenkove, Kilia district, Odesa region. He graduated from Shevchenkivske Secondary School No. 1 of Kilia district, Odesa region. He has higher education. In 2010 he graduated from the Odesa National Academy of Communications named after O.S. Popov, specializing in Economics and Entrepreneurship.

Кирило Бойко