The court has reduced the bail for the mayor of Kiliya for the third time in the bribery case

Vyacheslav Chernyavsky, the mayor of Kiliya, who is suspected of extorting a bribe, will remain in custody until November 25. At the same time, the court has reduced his bail for the third time—it now stands at 30.6 million hryvnias.

This is stated in a ruling by the Kyiv District Court of Odesa dated October 27, 2026.

The investigating judge partially granted the prosecution’s motion to extend the preventive measure. Chernyavsky will be held at the Odesa Pretrial Detention Center, but the court has set an alternative for him—bail in the amount of 9,200 subsistence minimums for able-bodied individuals. This amounts to over 30.6 million hryvnias.

If the mayor posts the bail, he must be released from custody immediately. He will also be subject to the procedural obligations set forth in the ruling of the Odesa Court of Appeals dated September 21. These obligations will remain in effect until November 25.

The court initially set the bail in this case at 41.6 million hryvnias. It was subsequently reduced to 38.7 million. The court then lowered it a second time to 36.6 million hryvnias. Now the amount has been reduced for the third time—to 30.6 million.

Thus, the bail has been reduced by nearly 11 million hryvnias from the initial amount.

Chernyavsky was detained by SBU officers in May 2026 on suspicion of extorting bribes during the modernization of the region’s southern energy infrastructure.

According to the investigation, the mayor demanded $35,000 from a representative of a foreign-invested company. In exchange for this money, he promised to approve all the necessary permits for the construction of a wind farm in the port city without any unnecessary obstacles.

The project was intended to serve as an additional source of electricity for residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and kindergartens in the community.

On June 2, the court suspended Chernyavsky from his position as mayor.

Ірина Глухова