13 June 2026
Court presidents’ financial disclosures aren’t just about their judicial salaries. Some have millions in cash; others have dozens of hectares of land registered under their family’s name. And some report only their salary and live in someone else’s home. One chief judge bought an apartment for 1.9 million hryvnias two months before the end of his term. Another judge just traded in his entire old fleet of cars for a single Range Rover worth 4.6 million.
The Center for Public Investigations, together with Intent, analyzed the financial reports of the heads and acting heads of 24 local courts in the region—25 declarations for 2025. We looked at how much they earned last year, what they’ve accumulated, what assets they own, and how these figures have changed compared to 2024.
Several courts had two heads this year—we have accounted for both. At the Ingulsky District Court in Mykolaiv, Nadiya Rumyantseva headed the court until April 1, 2025, after which Vyacheslav Kokorev became the head. Both are included in the rankings.
At the Arbuzinsky District Court, Olga Kirimova served as president until April 4, 2025. The declaration of her successor, Irina Dogareva, is not publicly available in the NACP registry, so her comparative data is missing.
The Vitovsky District Court is a special case. Throughout 2025, it was headed by Serhiy Hlubochenko, whose declaration we are analyzing. Lyudmyla Semenova became the court’s chair only on March 16, 2026. She was not the chairperson during the reporting year of 2025, so her figures are not included in the comparison. But let’s take it one step at a time.
The family of Serhiy Shcherbina, chair of the Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv, earned the most last year—6.56 million hryvnias. This is 3.5 times more than a year ago, when the family declared 1.87 million. The lion’s share came from the sale of movable property: the judge himself declared 1.64 million hryvnias from the sale of cars, and his wife, Svitlana, declared another 2.95 million from the same source. The judge’s own salary amounted to 1.67 million hryvnias, and his pension to 159,000. In other words, the jump in income was a one-time event resulting from the sale of the car fleet (see the sections on transportation and purchases for more details).
Second place goes to Galina Podzigun, head of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv: 3.33 million hryvnias, 5 percent less than last year (3.50 million). The judge’s own salary is 1.76 million hryvnias; her husband, Vadym Gavrasienko, contributed another 1.56 million: 1.43 million in salary and 126,000 in pension.
Third on the list is Yana Chernyavska, Chair of the Korabelny District Court of Mykolaiv—2.96 million hryvnias, 12 percent less than the previous year (3.36 million). The judge’s own salary was 1.45 million hryvnias, while her husband, Serhiy Koval, earned an additional 1.51 million: mostly salary and 61,000 in insurance payments.
In fourth place is Iryna Syabrenko, chair of the Kazankivsky District Court: 2.22 million hryvnias—almost the same as last year (2.28 million). Her own salary is 1.41 million hryvnias, and her husband, Mykola Bibik, contributed another 809,000.
Rounding out the top five is Larysa Rak, Chair of the Ochakiv City and District Court, with 2.06 million hryvnias, 25 percent more than last year (1.66 million): a salary of 1.62 million, a pension of 337,000, and a small business income from her husband, Anatoliy.
At the other end of the ranking are those who live on a single salary. The most modest incomes belong to Lyudmyla Orlenko, head of the Veselynivsky District Court (1.27 million), Fedir Sokol, acting head of the Vradiyiv District Court (1.3 million), and Halyna Dalmato, head of the South Ukrainian City Court (1.35 million). Despite her modest income, the latter owns the largest fleet of vehicles in the sample—more on that below. For all three, their income consists primarily of their own judicial salary, with no significant family income.
Among all the declarations, only one mentions a gift: Natalia Vasylchenko-Dryga, head of the Novobuzhsky District Court, declared two non-monetary gifts totaling 100,000 hryvnias (60,000 and 40,000), with the donor being Raisa Vasylchenko. Two other chairs received small charitable donations: Oleksandra Bodrova (Snigurivka) – 10,700 hryvnias, and the family of Vyacheslav Kokorev – 10,800 hryvnias.
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IMAGE: CPR/ Intent/ AI
The total savings of the heads of courts in the Mykolaiv region amounted to 27.13 million hryvnias, of which 23.41 million (86 percent) was in cash. The CPR converted foreign currency savings using the official NBU exchange rate as of December 31, 2025: 1 dollar = 42.39 hryvnias, 1 euro = 49.86 hryvnias. Court presidents did not declare any other currencies besides dollars and euros.
Galina Podzigun saved the most—9.11 million hryvnias, 3 percent more than last year (8.81 million). Almost all of it was in cash: $122,000 held by the judge herself (5.17 million hryvnias) and another $91,000 held by her husband (3.86 million), with only 84,000 hryvnias in bank accounts.
Second place goes to Serhiy Shcherbina: 3.32 million hryvnias, virtually unchanged from the previous year. This includes 1.65 million in cash held by the judge himself and the same amount held by his wife, all in hryvnias.
Third place goes to Natalia Haponenko, head of the Berezan District Court—1.66 million hryvnias, 47 percent more than last year (1.13 million). Unlike her predecessors, most of her funds are in bank accounts (1.08 million): euros, dollars, and hryvnias; another 580,000 hryvnias in foreign currency cash.
Oleg Vuiv, head of the Voznesensk City and District Court, declared 1.47 million hryvnias—53 percent less than last year (3.15 million). All funds are registered under his wife Oksana’s name: $20,000 and €3,000 in cash, with the remainder in hryvnia in bank accounts.
Rounding out the top five is Olena Repushevska with 1.3 million hryvnias, an 18 percent increase from last year (1.1 million): 500,000 hryvnias in cash and another 800,000 that she lent to a third party (the recipient’s name is not listed in the registry).
In contrast, five court presidents did not declare any savings at all: Serhiy Yanchuk (Bashtansky), Inna Gukova (Bratsky), Lyudmyla Orlenko, head of the Veselynivsky District Court, Oleksandra Bodrova, head of the Snigurivsky District Court, and Tetiana Marzhina, head of the Pervomaisky City and District Court.
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IMAGE: CPR/ Intent/ AI
The largest living space was declared by the chair of the Novobuzhsky District Court, Natalia Vasylchenko-Dryga —395 square meters, twice as much as last year (171 square meters). The judge herself owns a 50.3-square-meter apartment in Novobuzh and a 224-square-meter house in Mykolaiv, while her husband, Oleksandr Dryga, owns a 120.8-square-meter apartment in the same city.
In second place is Serhiy Shcherbyna with 254 square meters (unchanged from last year), with all the property registered under his wife Svitlana’s name: apartments of 206.8 and 47.2 square meters in Mykolaiv. The judge himself does not own a home—he lives in his wife’s apartment.
Third is Galina Podzigun—227 square meters, up from 110 last year. This is a 117-square-meter apartment in Mykolaiv held in joint shared ownership with her husband, and two other apartments (93 and 50.6 square meters) are registered in the name of her husband, Vadym Gavrasienko.
Galina Dalmatova, Chair of the South Ukrainian City Court, declared 221 square meters (no change): several apartments in Pivdennoukrainsk owned by the judge herself and her husband Dmytro, as well as his 71.6-square-meter apartment in Odesa. Separately, she owns a share in a 58.7-square-meter apartment in Luhansk (temporarily occupied territory).
Rounding out the top five is Oleg Vuiv—218 square meters (unchanged from last year): a 150.9-square-meter residential house in Voznesensk jointly owned with his wife and her 67.2-square-meter apartment in the same city.
Four court presidents did not declare any residential property of their own: Serhiy Yanchuk, Svitlana Orlova (Bereznehuvatskyi), Olena Repushevska, and Mykola Voynarivsky (Mykolaiv District). All of them use housing owned by others—see the section on right of use for more details.
The heads of courts in the Mykolaiv region own almost no commercial real estate—only three declared any non-residential properties.
Galina Podzigun owns the most: a non-residential space of 180.9 square meters in Mykolaiv, registered in her husband’s name. In second place is Galina Dalmatova with a 100.1-square-meter garage in Pivdennoukrainsk (also registered under her husband’s name). Rounding out the top three is Tetiana Marzhina— a 24.1-square-meter garage in Pervomaisk owned by the judge herself.
The remaining 21 of the 24 judges do not declare any non-residential real estate in their ownership.
The largest landholding belongs to Oksana Kryvenko, head of the Domanivsky District Court: 15.03 hectares (last year – 9.47). All four plots in the Domanivsky District are registered to a family member; over the past year, the total area has increased by more than five hectares.
In second place is Vyacheslav Kokorev: nearly 11 hectares (unchanged over the year)—six plots in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. Some of them in Chornobaivka and Vavylove belong to his wife; the family has ties to the Kherson region.
Inna Gukova comes in third—10.23 hectares, down from 10.73 last year. These are nine plots in the Mykolaiv region, mostly two hectares each in Yelanets, registered under her husband Eduard Navasardyan.
Natalia Chernyakova, Chair of the Yelanets District Court, declared 5.37 hectares of property (no change): plots of 5.2 hectares in Novovolodymyrivka and 0.17 hectares in Yelanets.
Rounding out the top five is Nataliya Vasylchenko-Dryga with 5.03 hectares (4.97 last year): a 4.97-hectare plot in Malynivka registered to her husband and a small plot in Mykolaiv.
Twelve out of 25 mayors did not declare any land plots at all. Among them are Olga Kirimova, Serhiy Yanchuk, Svitlana Orlova, Yana Chernyavska, and Galina Dalmatova.
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IMAGE: CPR/Intent/AI
Galina Dalmatova has the largest fleet: six vehicles (unchanged from last year), all registered under her husband Dmitry’s name. There are two actual cars—a 2013 Toyota Camry (110,000 hryvnias) and a 2006 Mercedes-Benz Viano—while the rest are motorcycles (Yamaha XJR 1300, Honda XRV 750, Loncin) and special-purpose vehicles.
In second place is Vyacheslav Kokorev with four vehicles, two of which are electric: a 2013 Nissan Leaf (379,000 hryvnias) and a 2016 Chevrolet Bolt EV (517,000 hryvnias) owned by him, and two older cars (a 1982 Toyota Town Ace and a VAZ 2109) are owned by his family.
Oleg Vuiiv also has four vehicles, although last year he had only two. The most notable is a 2022 Tesla Model Y (1.26 million hryvnias), along with a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan; both are registered to his wife.
Inna Gukova owns three vehicles (a Lexus GX 470 and her husband’s Kia Niro), Olena Repushevska and Nataliia Vasylchenko-Dryga, whose husband owns a brand-new 2025 Volkswagen Touareg (3.33 million hryvnias), an Audi Q5, and a Suzuki Grand Vitara.
And the most expensive car among all court presidents belongs to Serhiy Shcherbyna: a 2024 Land Rover Range Rover Sport worth 4.6 million hryvnias. It is precisely this purchase that explains the judge’s jump in income last year: the family sold several cars for 4.6 million and bought one premium SUV. In addition to the Range Rover, the judge uses a Volkswagen ID.4 electric car (not owned by him).
In contrast, four court heads— Natalia Haponenko, Lyudmila Orlenko, acting head of the Vradiyiv District Court Fedir Sokol, and Valeria Barankevych.
Four court presidents do not own their own homes and use someone else’s property.
Serhiy Yanchuk uses a 342.2-square-meter residential building in Bashtanka, which belongs to a third party—Valentyna Yelantseva.
Svitlana Orlova lives in a 42.7-square-meter apartment in Berezneguvate on a right-of-use basis together with her son, Rodion Tsigan. Separately, she declares a room abroad that her son rents from a third party (the area and country are not specified in the registry).
Olena Repushevska and her husband Oleksandr use a 64.7-square-meter residential house in Kryve Ozero.
Mykola Voynarivsky rents a 49-square-meter garden house in Mykolaiv from a third party—Valery Burkun.
Galina Dalmatova declares a share in a 58.7-square-meter apartment in Luhansk—in the temporarily occupied territory—as well as an apartment in Romania. And Svitlana Orlova, as noted above, declares a room in one of Austria’s cities under her son’s lease.
A separate group consists of families connected to the Kherson region: Vyacheslav Kokorev’s declaration lists a house and land in Chornobaivka and an apartment in Kherson, registered in his wife’s name.
A comparison of the 2024 and 2025 declarations reveals several notable property transactions.
The only major real estate purchase among all the heads was made by Olga Kirimova. On January 31, 2025, two months before the end of her tenure as head of the Arbuzinsky Court, she purchased a 77.2-square-meter apartment for 1.9 million hryvnias. This nearly doubled her declared living space—from 68 to 145 square meters.
Two other judges registered housing without specifying a price. In September 2025, Halyna Podzihun declared ownership of a 117-square-meter apartment in Mykolaiv—the very same one she had previously only been using; the purchase price was not specified in the declaration. And Lyudmyla Orlenko, head of the Veselynivsky Court, declared a new 72.1-square-meter residential house in a village in the Odesa region, purchased in November 2025, for a stated price of just 50,000 hryvnias.
The most notable transaction involved the family of Serhiy Shcherbina: the sale of cars brought in approximately 4.6 million hryvnias in revenue, and these funds were used to purchase a 2024 Range Rover Sport for 4.6 million. In effect, the entire fleet was replaced with a single premium SUV.
Several transactions stand out. Inna Gukova’s savings disappeared from her declaration: 500,000 hryvnias last year, zero this year. At the same time, the family sold real estate (281,000 hryvnias in income) and personal property (200,000), and the vehicle fleet was updated, with the Land Rover Freelander replaced by a Lexus GX 470 and a Kia Niro.
Serhiy Hlubochenko’s declared living space dropped from nearly 560 to 140 square meters. Last year, a 139.9-square-meter house in Halytsynove appeared in the declaration four times—with different dates of acquisition but the same area, value, and redacted registration number—while this year there is only one entry. The judge declared only 155,000 hryvnias in income from the sale of real estate, so this is likely a matter of updating records rather than the sale of three houses.
For Yana Chernyavska, her share in a 41.2-square-meter apartment in Mykolaiv decreased from half to one-third—hence the drop in declared square footage.
The rest of the changes involve an increase in assets. Oksana Kryvenko’s family’s land holdings grew from 9.47 to 15.03 hectares over the year—plots in the Domanivsky district were added. Oleg Vuiiv’s vehicle fleet doubled—from two to four vehicles, including a new Tesla Model Y; however, his savings, on the other hand, fell by more than half—from 3.15 to 1.47 million hryvnias. Natalia Vasylchenko-Dryga’s declared living space increased from 171 to 395 square meters, and a 2025 Volkswagen Touareg worth over 3.3 million hryvnias was added to the family’s vehicle fleet.
Thus, according to our calculations, the heads and acting heads of 24 courts in the Mykolaiv region declared 47.29 million hryvnias in total income and 27.13 million hryvnias in savings for 2025. More than eight-tenths of the savings are in cash, a significant portion of which is in dollars and euros. The largest savings belong to Halyna Podzihun (9.11 million, mostly in dollar cash). The largest single-source income belongs to Serhiy Shcherbina (6.56 million), mostly from the sale of a car, which was replaced by the most expensive vehicle in the sample, a Range Rover worth 4.6 million. The largest landholding belongs to Oksana Kryvenko (15 hectares, registered under the family’s name). At the same time, four court presidents do not own their own homes, another four do not own any vehicles, and five did not declare any savings at all.
This is a typical picture for the district-level judiciary: the basis of their wealth is their salary and accumulated cash, while significant assets are more often registered in the names of family members.
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