Odesa Airport Seizure Case: Plea Agreements Announced Amid Council Turmoil

The past week has been marked by a high-profile announcement by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office regarding the case of seizure of the Odesa municipal airport and the revenues from its operation. Read more about this, two sessions of the city and regional councils in one week, and the beating of the chief of advertising in Odesa in the Intent digest.

Photo collage: Intent

• The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has announced the conclusion of plea agreements with the defendants in the case of seizing the Odesa municipal airport and the proceeds from its operation. The organizers of the crime are businessmen Borys Kaufman and Alex Borukhovych. The document contains information about the court's receipt of the indictment along with the pre-trial investigation materials, receipts of the suspects and their lawyers for copies of these documents, as well as a plea agreement in the criminal proceedings.
• On February 23, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office sent to court an indictment against businessmen Borys Kaufman and Oleksandr Borukhovych for organizing the seizure of the Odesa municipal airport and its revenues.
  
  In addition to Kaufman and Borukhovych, the case involves the former mayor of Odesa, Oleksiy Kostusev, former deputy mayor of Odesa, Mykhailo Kuchuk, director of Odesa Airport Development LLC, Oleksiy Kochanov, Kaufman's trustee, Konstantin Yefremov, and co-owner of Clear City, Petro Bahriy.

The head of the Odesa regional council reported for the fifth time

Photo: Intent/Natalia Dovbysh.

• On February 28, a scandal erupted in the Odesa Regional Council during the consideration of the draft decision "Report on the Activities of the Head of the Odesa Regional Council for 2024." During the voting, the decision did not receive the required number of votes. However, after a repeated appeal by one of the deputies, the voting was returned to the hall. This time, 42 deputies voted in favor, but the decision was still not adopted. Subsequently, MP Oleksiy Kobylnikov proposed to return to voting on Hryhoriy Didenko's report. In the end, for the fifth time, the deputies finally adopted the report. Also at the plenary session, the deputies supported the appeal of the Odesa Regional Council deputies to support President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
• Intent traditionally broadcast the meeting online. Preparations for the next session of the Odesa City Council are underway. Deputies will discuss the draft decisions to be put to vote during the plenary session at the permanent deputy commissions. Intent will report on each meeting of all deputy commissions.
• Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has not started considering the appeal of Odesa deputy Zhanna Mandrychenko against the decision of the Fifth Court of Appeal on the legality of holding sessions of the Odesa City Council in a mixed mode for a year and a half.

Three years of the Russian invasion

• February 24 marked the third anniversary of the aggressor country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Death, destruction and pain were brought to our country by our barbaric neighbors. Intent recalled how it all began and what Ukrainians are experiencing in the words of the characters in its materials.
• Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Odesa region has suffered more than 700 enemy attacks. Russian troops have fired about 300 missiles and more than 400 attack drones at the region. Since February 24, 2022, 187 people have died as a result of Russian shelling, including 12 children. Another 691 people have been injured, including 57 children.

Beating of the head of advertising and military TCC

• On February 24, unidentified persons attacked an official of the Odesa municipality and beat him with a bat, breaking his arm and bruising his head. It turned out that he was Igor Slyusarenko, the head of the advertising department of the Odesa City Council.
• On February 22, police detained a man who had inflicted injuries on a soldier on Italian Boulevard in Odesa. The 28-year-old resident of Berezovsky district started a conflict with the military personnel of the territorial center for recruitment and social support during the document check. The man sprayed tear gas into the face of one of the soldiers and made several shots in his direction with a weapon of preliminary traumatic effect, after which he fled.

Terrorists and a traitorous ex-MP

• In Odesa region, two local residents will stand trial on charges of sabotage, intentional damage to property and obstruction of the legitimate work of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The investigation established that the men received an order via Telegram from a representative of the Russian special services to commit arson and sabotage in the region. Following these instructions, in July 2024, they set fire to three relay cabinets, a transformer substation and a car of an Armed Forces serviceman.
• On February 25, the Security Service of Ukraine detained a woman in Odesa whom it believes to be an agent of Russian military intelligence (better known as the Main Intelligence Directorate). The 32-year-old resident of Odesa was remotely recruited by a staff member of the Russian special operations forces at the end of last year. She set fire to a relay cabinet of a signaling system and a transformer substation on a local railroad line. Then the agent received a new task - to equip a cache with components for an improved explosive device (IED) near the port.
• On February 24, a former deputy of the Odesa City Council from the pro-Russian Rodina party was served with a notice of suspicion of treason and war propaganda. After fleeing to Russia in 2014, the man actively assisted the aggressor country. On the day of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, the former MP joined the Russian troops in the temporarily occupied Kyiv region, helping the occupiers to navigate the terrain.
• On February 21, SBU and police officers detained a man who had prepared a terrorist attack in Odesa on February 20 this year. A resident of Odesa received a proposal in Telegram in early February to prepare an explosion in the city. The organizer determined the place, time and object of the attack, and the suspect was promised USD 3 thousand for completing the task. Having made an explosive device, the suspect planted it in a parking lot opposite the administrative building, installed a smartphone nearby to record the explosion, and left the scene.

Frontman of Numer 482 band gives charity concert in Odesa

The soldier and frontman of the band "Numer 482" Vitaliy Kirichenko gave a charity concert in Odesa. The event, which took place on February 25, was attended by an Intent correspondent. At the concert, dedicated to supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kirichenko performed his main hit "Good Morning, Ukraine!", which caused a real sensation among the audience. By the way, an exclusive video of the concert is available for viewing by members of our community on Patreon.

Кирило Бойко