Salaries of the heads of Kherson region's SAIs: who received the highest incomes

In the Kherson region, the heads of local military administrations received substantial monthly incomes last year, which varied greatly. Some officials concealed information about their salaries, while most publicly reported on the money they received.

This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

In 2024, the heads of local military administrations in Kherson region received salaries ranging from 16 to almost 110 thousand hryvnias per month. Most officials earned from 70 to 90 thousand, and Ruslan Rusal, the head of the Chulakivka Rural Military Administration in Skadovsk district, had the highest average monthly salary - about 110 thousand hryvnias.

The top 10 best-paid executives included: Svitlana Linnyk (Holoprystan city IA, almost UAH 97 thousand), Lyubov Minko (Mylivka village IA, about UAH 96 thousand), Roman Mrochko (Kherson city IA, almost UAH 96 thousand), Ihor Dudar (Chornobaiv village IA, about UAH 94 thousand), Oleksandr Alchiev (Beryslav city IA, UAH 93 thousand). UAH 93 thousand), Oleksandr Babutskyi (Stanislavske rural ATC, UAH 90 thousand), Valerii Brusenskyi (Novokakhovka city ATC, almost UAH 89 thousand), Oleksandr Levechko (Novooleksandrivske rural ATC, about UAH 88 thousand) and Ihor Pidhorodetskyi (Muzykivske rural ATC, about UAH 88 thousand).

Another nineteen heads of military administrations received between 70 and 80 thousand hryvnias per month, and eight officials received between 81 and 89 thousand hryvnias.

The lowest salaries in 2024 were paid to: Serhiy Peretyatko (Novotroyitske village military administration, about 50.5 thousand UAH), Liudmyla Kostiuk (Kochubeevske village military administration, almost 50 thousand UAH), Mykola Yatsenko (Tyahynske village military administration, about 28 thousand UAH), Serhiy Kukhta (Skadovske city military administration, about 22 thousand UAH) and Oleksiy Batkalov (Bekhterske village military administration, almost 16 thousand UAH). The lower salaries are explained by the fact that certain executives were paid by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Starting May 12, 2025, the salaries of the heads of the SAIs, who are also active military personnel, are financed directly by the administrations to which they are seconded. For example, Valeriy Melnychenko (Vynohradiv Rural Military Administration) received UAH 293.5 thousand in May-August 2025, or an average of UAH 73.4 thousand per month.

Not all officials provided information on their salaries. The Tavrychansk Rural and Kakhovka City IAs refused to disclose their income, citing an alleged threat to the lives of relatives in the temporarily occupied territories. In response to the journalists' appeals, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights opened proceedings for violation of the Law of Ukraine "On Access to Public Information". At first, the Bilozerska Village VA did not respond to the request, but later clarified that the average salary of its head, Ihor Ostrovnyi, in 2024 was more than UAH 85,000 per month.

Earlier, the Center for Investigative Journalism found that members of the Kherson City Council and former members declared tens of millions of hryvnias in 2024, mostly from business activities, not salaries. Three officials received the highest income - their families earned between UAH 6 and 11 million.

Анна Бальчінос