Official of Odesa City Council accused of enrichment heads utility company

Odesa has appointed a new interim director of the municipal enterprise Odesa Heat Supply. Artem Zakharov, who previously worked as deputy director of the municipal economy department of the Odesa City Council, has been appointed to act as director.

The relevant order was signed by Acting Mayor and City Council Secretary Igor Koval.

According to the order, Artem Zakharov took up his duties on May 7 and will remain in office until a permanent head of the enterprise is appointed. The personnel decision was based on his personal application and the proposal of Leonid Grebenyuk, Director of the Municipal Economy Department.

Prior to his appointment, Valeriy Ivanov was the head of the municipal enterprise "Heat Supply of Odesa". He held the position of director of the enterprise since September 2, 2024, but left it in early 2026. According to an order dated January 6, Ivanov submitted his resignation at his own request.

The official has been working in the structure of the Odesa City Council for several years. Since 2022, according to his declaration, he has served as deputy director of the city council's municipal economy department.

However, in 2024, the official became the focus of attention of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption. After a full audit of his income declaration, the NAPC announced that it had found false information worth more than UAH 6 million.

In particular, during the audit, the agency's experts found that Artem Zakharov failed to include in his declaration a 24-square-meter apartment in Mykolaiv, where he is from. The NACP also drew attention to the data on a 2023 Volvo XC60, which was purchased by his wife Iryna in May 2023. According to the agency, the declaration indicated an unreliable value of the car. The difference between the declared and actual amount, according to NACP estimates, amounted to UAH 334.2 thousand.

In March, Intent investigated why Odesa again experienced difficult conditions in the winter of 2025/26.

The winter season of 2022/23 was one of the most difficult for Odesa: due to constant Russian strikes on the energy infrastructure, the city was often left without electricity, and after shelling, residents often had their water and heating cut off.

After that winter, at the initiative of UNDP, donors provided Odesa with cogeneration units to ensure the operation of critical infrastructure even during blackouts. As of November 2025, the city had received 13 such units, but the authorities had installed only one.

Анна Бальчінос