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01 June 2026
Odesa municipal stadium is headed by a homeless utility worker
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Zurab Shoniya, the former head of the Service Center utility company, has been appointed acting director of the Spartak Stadium in Odesa.
According to the Center for Public Investigations, the corresponding order of the acting mayor of Odesa, Ihor Koval, was published by the press service of the mayor's office.
Zurab Shoniya took up his duties on June 1. In the winter of 2025, he resigned from his position as director of the Service Center. In his declaration as a candidate for the position, he stated that he did not have his own home, but used a 93-square-meter apartment. He has no cars, shares, corporate rights, or savings, and his income consisted of a salary of UAH 539.1 thousand and a pension of UAH 132.9 thousand.
The declarant has bank accounts in two financial institutions: "Ukrgasbank and PrivatBank. No information about family members was provided in the declaration.
"Spartak is a football and rugby stadium in Odesa. It is home to the Pearl football club and the Credo-63 rugby club. During the reconstruction of Chornomorets Stadium in 2009-2011, Chornomorets football club played its home games there. The stadium is in municipal ownership and is subordinated to the Odesa City Council.
In December 2025, National Police investigators opened a criminal investigation into the possible fictitious employment of men of military age at the Municipal Enterprise "Miskzelentrest" of the Odesa City Council to reserve them from mobilization.
As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers conducted a search at one of the company's work sites and seized a mobile phone of a utility employee. The court seized the device and recognized it as material evidence. The court ruling does not name the suspects. However, since July 2025, according to the order of former Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, the Municipal Enterprise "Miskzelentrest" has been managed by Zurab Shoniya 's son, also Zurab.
