Mykolaiv region opens accounts on corruption at checkpoints of invincibility

In Mykolaiv region, a court considered a police motion for temporary access to documents and items in a criminal case over embezzlement at generators. According to the investigation, village head Valeriy Khomitsky developed a corruption scheme to misappropriate budget funds.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Berezansky District Court of Mykolaiv Oblast.

According to the investigation, the head of the Berezan village council received a task from the regional headquarters to deploy the Unbreakable Points in the community. In November 2022, the village council officially identified locations for the stationary points and instructed the starostas to organize their functioning, providing heating, electricity, water and food.

However, instead of conducting public procurement, it decided to reallocate budget funds: from the special fund under the program "Ensuring the urgent needs of the state functioning under martial law" in the amount of UAH 435,005, as well as from the general fund to the special fund development budget in the amount of UAH 1,064,995.

He then entered into a direct contract with an entrepreneur for the supply of generators under an agreement dated November 29, 2022, for a total amount of UAH 1.2 million, although the real market value of these generators was about UAH 566 thousand. The funds were transferred to the entrepreneur's current account in two installments.

At the same time, the village head removed the authorized person from the procurement process and ensured the overpricing by involving fictitious companies and relatives in the scheme. As a result of these actions, the community budget suffered losses in the amount of UAH 732,333.

On January 15, 2026, the official was notified of suspicion of embezzlement through abuse of office. The court granted the police's request and allowed temporary access and seizure of documents confirming fraud with generators and financial transactions of the village council.

As noted in the media, the case file on the possible embezzlement of funds by Valeriy Khomitsky includes Mykolaiv Regional Council deputy Volodymyr Pogadayev and "humanitarian" generators from the Svitli Deli charity foundation, which is associated with the head of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency, Hanna Zamazeyeva. The foundation claims to have handed over to the police all the documents on the transfer of these generators to military units.

On January 21, 2026, the Berezansky District Court imposed a pre-trial restraint on Khomitsky in the form of detention with bail of 260 thousand hryvnias.

According to the YouControl analytical system, the Light Matters charity foundation was founded in 2020 by Victoria Arakhamia and Anna Zamazeyeva. In 2022, the foundation became the property of Volodymyr Yarmak, Zamazeyeva's father. They are not currently listed among the founders.

Last year, the court approved a corruption plea agreement between Khomitskyi and the prosecutor's office. Back then, the village head extorted 200,000 hryvnias from a local farmer, but thanks to the agreement, he paid a million hryvnias to the Armed Forces instead of going to prison and remained in office as head of Berezanka.

Анна Бальчінос