23 May 2026
(ILLUSTRATION: CPR/Intent)
More than 80 million in savings, Greek real estate, million-dollar gifts, and income without specified employers - the declarations of the heads of Odesa universities for 2025 showed a striking financial gap between officials. Almost three quarters of all savings are concentrated in one family, while some rectors did not declare any savings at all.
The Centerfor Public Investigations and Intent analyzed the declarations of 16 heads of state and municipal higher education institutions in Odesa Oblast for 2025.
Together, they declared UAH 37.57 million in income and UAH 82 million in savings, mostly in cash. Rector of Odesa State University of Internal Affairs Viacheslav Davydenko was not included in the sample, as his declaration was not found in the register.
At the same time, the rating includes two heads of Odesa Mechnikov National University, Vyacheslav Truba and Maya Nikolaieva, and Odesa National Medical University, Stanislav Schneider and Valeriy Zaporozhan.
Vyacheslav Truba won the rectorial election, but Maya Nikolaieva is listed in the EDEBO register as acting rector. At ONMU, in February 2026, the court suspended the election of the rector, and in March it became known about the new acting rector, Stanislav Schneider. Although both appointments took place in 2026, Schneider and Nikolaieva were included in the sample for 2025 - at that time, Schneider was the head of the Department of General Dentistry at the medical university and headed the Institute of Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the NAMSU, and Nikolaieva was the first vice-rector of ONMU.
The highest income was declared by the acting vice-rector of Odesa National Maritime University, Iryna Savelieva. Her personal income amounted to UAH 3.23 million. The bulk of it was made up of salary, business income and more than UAH 1.6 million received from the sale of real estate.
IMAGE: CPR/ Intent/ AI
The main financial contribution to the family budget came from her husband, Andrii Kuzmenko, who declared almost UAH 11 million in salary. However, the declaration does not specify where he works and what position he holds. The total family income increased by 26% over the year.
Stanislav Schneider took the second place with a family income of over UAH 6.3 million. His personal income was much more modest: salaries from several jobs, pension, compensation for damaged property and charitable aid together amounted to less than UAH 700 thousand.
The main source of income in the family was his wife Svitlana Levina's business, which brought in more than 5 million hryvnias. She received over half a million more from renting out property. Despite this, the total family income decreased by almost 70% over the year.
Rector of the State University of Intellectual Technologies and Communications Oleksandr Nazarenko took the third position. His income more than quadrupled to almost UAH 2.9 million. The main reason was a cash gift of over UAH 2 million from a relative. The rest of the amount was formed by salary and pension.
The fourth on the list was the acting rector of the Odesa Maritime Academy, Vadym Zakharchenko, with an income of UAH 2.34 million. The declaration includes his salary, pension and inheritance. His wife also declared more than a million hryvnias of income, including "other income" from Smelyansky without specifying the source of payments.
Maya Nikolaieva took the fifth place with a family income of UAH 1.61 million. The main sources of income were her husband's salary and pension.
The heads of four other higher education institutions - Yaroslav Kichuk, Olena Khil, Hennadii Oborskyi and Anatolii Kovalev - declared less than one million hryvnias of income for the year.
Stanislav Schneider became the undisputed leader in the ranking of university leaders in terms of savings. His family declared 59.15 million hryvnias, which is almost 72% of all the savings that 16 rectors have together. Although the amount has decreased by more than UAH 11 million compared to last year, most of the current assets - UAH 46.63 million - are registered to his wife Svitlana Levina.
IMAGE: CPR/ Intent/ AI
Acting Rector of Odesa National Medical University Valeriy Zaporozhan took the second place with 5.56 million hryvnias in savings that he keeps personally. Next is Oleh Todoschak, rector of the National University of Odesa Law Academy, with UAH 3.36 million in his declaration, almost half of which belongs to his wife.
Oleksandr Nazarenko is also among those who have accumulated more than three million hryvnias. His savings increased significantly over the year - by 60%, in part due to a gift he received. The total amount is UAH 3.04 million, mostly personal funds. Iryna Savelieva rounds out the top five richest in terms of savings with UAH 2.79 million, part of which is declared for her husband.
In total, 16 university rectors declared about UAH 82 million in savings. At the same time, four rectors - Yaroslav Kichuk, Hennadii Oborskyi, Olena Khil, and Anatolii Kovalev - did not indicate any savings in their declarations, although they have income.
Stanislav Schneider and his family declared five residential properties with a total area of over 1,200 square meters. The largest asset is a spacious 657-square-meter apartment in Odesa registered directly in his name. In October 2025, he also purchased a 52-square-meter apartment in Greece. His wife Svitlana Levina owns three more apartments: two in Odesa - 309 and 100 square meters - and another in Greece with an area of almost 84 square meters, purchased at the end of 2022. The total estimated value of all the family's declared Greek assets, including non-residential premises and a parking space, is approximately UAH 16.7 million.
IMAGE: CPR/ Intent/ AI
Valeriy Zaporozhan declared two large residential properties. He owns a 265-square-meter apartment in Odesa and a 345-square-meter country house in Kryzhanivka.
Iryna Savelieva has five residential properties in her declaration. The bulk of the real estate is located in Odesa: a large apartment of 232 square meters and three other apartments of 69, 67 and 66 square meters. In addition, the family owns a 59-square-meter apartment in Chornomorsk, where the share registered to the husband's wife is 29 square meters.
Maya Nikolaieva's residential real estate is not registered in her name, but in the name of her husband, Oleksandr Nikolaiev. He owns three houses in the village of Oleksandrivka, Odesa district: one 184-square-meter house and two larger houses of 57 square meters each.
The Nazarenko family owns five apartments in Odesa. They range in size from 43 to 97 square meters. Nazarenko himself fully owns only one apartment, which is 87 square meters. In the largest apartment of 97 square meters, he owns only a share of 32 square meters. The other three apartments are registered in the name of his wife, Koroleva-Nazarenko.
Among the rectors, Savelieva ranks first in terms of non-residential real estate. Her declaration lists one property in Odesa, a non-residential building with an area of 202 square meters.
The Zakharchenko family has a much larger list of properties. Together, they declared five non-residential properties with a total area of 163 square meters. Among them are three garages in Odesa and Kryzhanivka with an area of 18, 19.5 and 33 square meters. In addition, his wife owns a 42.7-square-meter room in Ovidiopol, and the declarant himself has another property in Prybuzhany, Voznesensk district, which is almost 50 square meters.
Schneider declared several small non-residential properties. In Odesa, the family owns three 15-square-meter premises: two are registered in his name and one in his wife's name. The declaration also includes properties in Greece - a small non-residential building and a parking space.
Zaporozhets declared two parking spaces in Odesa, each with an area of 17 square meters.
Andrii Krasnozhon, rector of the South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushynskyi, is the leader in terms of land assets. His family's declaration includes two hectares of land in the village of Soshe-Ostrovske, Rozdilnyansky district. At the same time, the land plots are not registered directly to the declarant himself - all property is registered to a family member.
Zakharchenko ranks second in terms of land bank with a total of 0.38 hectares. The bulk of the land belongs to his wife Lolita: she owns two plots in Ovidiopol with an area of 900 and 1,500 square meters. The declarant himself owns another 0.13 hectares in Prybuzhany.
Among other leaders, Zaporozhan declared notable land assets - four plots in Kryzhanivka, all registered personally to him: three of them are 1,000 square meters each and another one is 453 square meters.
Oleh Todoschak declared three land plots in Lymanets. One of them, with an area of 1,257 square meters, belongs to him personally, and two more - 1,000 and 971 square meters - are registered in his wife's name.
The rector of Odesa State Agrarian University, Mykhailo Broshkov, owns two land plots in the region: 909 square meters in the village of Kubey, Bolhrad district, and 569 square meters in Nova Dolyna, Odesa district.
Nazarenko declared the largest car fleet. His family owns three cars at once: a 2008 Mitsubishi L200 pickup truck, a 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander SUV, and a 1999 Smart MC 01 compact. Two of the cars are registered to his wife.
Oleh Todoschak also has three cars, all of which are Toyota. The declaration lists a 2014 RAV4, a 2013 Land Cruiser Prado 150, and a 2016 Land Cruiser 200. The latter two are expensive premium SUVs. As in other cases, part of the vehicle fleet is registered in the name of his wife, who owns two cars.
Stanislav Schneider's fleet is more modest in number but more expensive in class. The family uses a 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 150 and a 2018 Lexus LX 450D diesel. One of the cars is registered to Levina's wife.
Iryna Savelieva declared two modern cars - a 2020 BMW X3 and a 2023 Mazda 6. Instead, Nikolaieva and her husband have two 2022 Skodas: an Octavia sedan and a Kodiaq crossover.
72% of all savings among executives are concentrated in the hands of one person - Stanislav Schneider. His family keeps 59 million hryvnias with an annual income of 6.4 million. Almost three quarters of the savings are registered to his wife Svitlana Levina. Over the year, the family's income fell by 69%, but savings decreased by only 16%.
In October 2025, Schneider's family purchased three properties in Greece at once: a 52-square-meter apartment, a non-residential building, and a parking space. All purchases are dated October 24, and the addresses are hidden in the declaration. Another apartment in Greece with an area of 83.7 square meters has been owned by his wife since 2022.
Iryna Savelieva's situation is different: out of a total family income of 14.18 million hryvnias, she personally earned only 3.23 million. The remaining 10.95 million is the salary of her husband, Andriy Kuzmenko. His place of work is not indicated in the declaration.
Oleksandr Nazarenko dramatically increased his income from 650 thousand to 2.89 million hryvnias. The main role in this was played by a cash gift of 2.07 million from a relative. Without this money, his income would have consisted only of his salary and pension.
Some of the property of the executives is not registered to them personally, but to their family members. Andrii Krasnozhen declares two hectares of land in Rozdilnyanskyi district, but all the land is registered to a relative. Maya Nikolayeva has a similar situation: three residential buildings in the village of Oleksandrivka are registered in her husband's name.
The situation at the Odesa National Medical University stands out separately: two heads - Stanislav Schneider and Valeriy Zaporozhan - appear on the list at once. In 2025, Zaporozhan served as acting rector, and Schneider became the head of the university in March 2026. Together, they declared UAH 64.71 million in savings, which is almost three quarters of all savings in the sample.
The declarations of 16 heads of state and municipal universities in Odesa for 2025 show significant financial gaps: out of a total of UAH 82 million in savings, almost UAH 59 million are concentrated in one family. The rector of Odesa National Maritime University, Stanislav Schneider, together with his wife Svitlana Levina, declared the largest savings. Despite the fact that the family's annual income has almost halved compared to the previous year, in October 2025, the couple purchased three properties in Greece.
Iryna Savelieva declared the highest income among the executives. The total income of her family exceeded UAH 14 million, but about three quarters of this amount was earned by her husband, Andriy Kuzmenko. The source of his income was not specified in the declaration.
Oleksandr Nazarenko recorded a noticeable increase in income: his income quadrupled over the year. The main reason was a monetary gift received from a person with the same surname.
Vadym Zakharchenko's declaration included income from an inheritance of 123 thousand hryvnias. At the same time, his wife declared another UAH 784 thousand of "other income" received from Smelyansky.
At the same time, not all leaders have disclosed their assets: the rector of Odesa State University of Internal Affairs, Viacheslav Davydenko, did not submit a declaration for 2025.
Олеся Ланцман, Анна Бальчінос