Property somersault: quiet redistribution of the Law Academy

Last year, in February 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a decree to consolidate the Odesa National University named after I. Mechnikov (ONU) by merging the National University "Odesa Law Academy" with it. The law academy was outraged by this decision and called on the government to cancel the reorganization of the university and dismiss Minister of Education Oksen Lisovyi.

However, Mechnykov's officials are probably notvery happy about this prospect either: along with the name and faculty, the institution risks getting a real estate "headache": Currently, there are 100+ buildings in Odesa and the region that house not only the state-owned Odesa Law Academy, but also private educational institutions affiliated with the Kivalov family. Several people close to the university's leadership told Intent that they are aware of the problem and assess the risk as very high.

Officially, when asked about the pros and cons of the merger, the ONU said that "as of 23.02.2026, the activities of the reorganization commission have been suspended, in accordance with the decision of the Kyiv District Administrative Court of 10.03.2025, which suspended the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine "On the reorganization of the National University "Odesa Law Academy". Therefore, the prospect of the merger has been postponed until the decision in the case comes into force.

However, Intent decided to find out whether the situation with the real estate of the law academy is really not so simple. And what belonged to whom and what belongs now.

Lawyer, politician, philanthropist

Serhii Kivalov is a Member of Parliament of Ukraine of the III-VIII convocations, former chairman of the Central Election Commission during the 2004 presidential election that resulted in the Orange Revolution. Former rector of the National University"Odesa Law Academy". Currently, he is an honorary president of the National University of Odesa Law Academy and an honorary citizen of Odesa and the region.

Serhiy Kivalov. PHOTO: Kivalov's Instagram screenshot

At the moment, Kivalov, through his relatives, is probably one of the largest owners of Odesa real estate in the form of various educational institutions: National University "Odesa Law Academy" (NU OJA), Classical University "Odesa Law Academy" (KU OJA), International Humanitarian University (IHU), International Academic School "Odesa" (IASO) and International Academic School "Odesa" (IASO). Together, these entities consolidate more than 120,000 square meters of real estate in the historic city center and on the seashore.

Let's start with the legal address: 23 Fontanska Street.

The official legal address of the National University "Odesa Law Academy" (NU OJA) is 23 Fontanska Road.

As Intent found out, this is the administrative and educational building of the Academy, which has an area of almost 1.8 thousand square meters. The owner is the Ministry of Education of Ukraine (MES), and the right holder is the Academy.

On its website, the Academy demonstrates several buildings, probably as an example of its material base. One of them is the actual classroom, but the three buildings shown on the official website are not legally related to the Academy.

The main image of the National Law Academy website. PHOTO: Website screenshot

We are talking about the building with a white roof in the photo. This is actually the Medical Faculty of the International Humanitarian University (IHU). The official address is 23a Fontanskaya Road. And the owners of the Moscow State University are equally owned by Tatiana Kivalova and Sergey Kosyanenko, Kivalova's daughter and grandson.

As for the building of the Moscow State University (which has now been renamed the International University), although the official address of the faculty is 23a Fontanskaya Road, the real estate register does not indicate the owner. Probably, the registration took place before 2013, and since then no other registration actions have taken place with this property, and therefore this information has not yet been transferred to the electronic register.

On the right is the Church of St. Martyr Tatiana (UOC-MP), which was built by Serhiy Kivalov. However, its address is now 2 Akademichna Street. There are many possible answers as to why the church is also on the official photo of the Academy.

The church, which, as stated on the building's plaque, was built "by the labor and care of Serhiy Kivalov," according to documents, belongs to the Odesa Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (MP).

And, since we have already touched on Akademichna, 2, we note that the main academic building of the National University of Law is located at the same address, and it is there that the admission committee of the law academy is located. The total area of the building is almost 12.8 thousand square meters. It was also registered in 2017 and is state property of the Ministry of Education and Science, and the institution has the right to manage its own affairs.

In addition, there is a stadium on the same territory, which, according to the websites of the institutions and their social networks, is used by both students of the Law Academy and the private Moscow State University. Under what conditions? We asked the management of the institution this question. However, they did not provide an answer before the text was published.

So, as you can see, in this case, several buildings of public and private institutions and a religious building are located on the same common territory at the same addresses.

The property of the Law Academy and not only. ILLUSTRATION: Intent

Our next stop is Akademichna Street, 7.

This address is home to the academic building and ancillary facilities with a total area of 4.1 thousand square meters. According to the state real estate register, it was registered in 2017. This is also the property of the Ministry of Education and Science, and the National University of Law has the right to manage the 2,663.8 m² academic building.

However, at the same address, the Classical University "Odesa Law Academy" (OUA), owned by Serhii Kosianenko, owns four premises that were given as apartments to employees of the former Odesa Higher Vocational School No. 1 back in 1997. According to an extract from the real estate register, the institution acquired ownership in 2019. Moreover, back in 2004, these apartments were purchased from people by Moscow State University. And then, due to the reorganization of the institution, it transferred them to the Classical University.

Therefore, Intent asked the law school whether they use these premises of the ULA KU, and, if so, under what conditions. We also asked why these premises are owned by a private institution, and not by the Law Academy. However, they did not provide a response before the publication of the text.

In addition, one of the wings of this building is used under a lease agreement by the Academic Professional College of the National Law University, the subject of the previous Intent investigation about the "Ghost College". Back then, we found out how a state college was replaced by a private one.

Next up is 30 Akademichna Street.

At this address, the law school had the most facilities: several pumping and transformer stations, a hairdresser, a shop, a summer cinema, a club, a dance floor, a dining room and workshops, and dormitory No. 9. In addition, it owned buildings 1, 3, and 4. Their total area was 37.3 thousand square meters. However, in 2020, according to an extract from the real estate register, the facilities were divided, which resulted in the loss of ownership. Dormitory No. 9, a dining room, and transformer substations with a total area of 12,800 square meters remained in the ownership of the National University of Law.

The real estate of two different educational institutions is located at the same address. ILLUSTRATION: Intent

Instead, this address is now also home to the Odesa Machine Shop. It was built by the Student Church Charitable Foundation, founded by Valentyn Fedorov, Vice-Rector for Educational and Innovative Development and Economic Activity of the National University of Law and a member of Serhiy Kivalov's Ukrainian Sea Party. In 2013, according to the real estate registry, the foundation registered ownership of the school. However, in 2016, it transferred it to Moscow State University, which five years later transferred it back to the Odesa School.

The institution is located on a 1.3-hectare plot of land and has an area of 18,500 m² and is 100% owned by Tetiana Kivalova, Serhii's daughter.

Later, the school began renting its premises to the International Humanitarian University and the Odesa Law Academy Classical University.

Intent also noticed that if you search for this address - 30 Akademichna Street - in a search engine, Google does not show the buildings of the law academy, but rather the Odesa School of Law.

In addition, when Intent visited this address, he saw that the property of the National University of Law looks rather neglected, while the school is on the contrary: life, as they say, is in full swing.

Going to the sea - Novoberehova, 94

This address is home to several properties belonging to the Classical University and the MASHO(owned by Kivalov's wife Natalia).

For example, the open sports and recreation complex "University", which was acquired by Moscow State University in 2013, was transferred to the Moscow School of Art in 2019, and in 2020, Moscow State University began to rent the same complex for rent.

In addition, according to a sign at the entrance to the administrative building of the complex, the Department of Physical Education of the National University of Law is also located here. However, there is no information in the registry that the Law Academy rents any premises from the MASHO.

The only thing that Intent has found is that in 2011, the Odesa City Hall allocated almost 1.4 hectares of land to the Law Academy for permanent use to create a green area for public use. However, there is no information in the real estate register about the buildings of the National University of Law at 94 Novoberehova Street.

What the Kivalovs' property looks like by the sea. ILLUSTRATION: Intent

Private property

We also consider it necessary to tell you about some of the findings that Intent discovered during this investigation.

For example, the so-called"Harry Potter Castle", which is also called the Palace of Students of the Odesa Law Academy (by the way, the Google map shows it as such), or the House of Receptions of the Moscow State University. By the way, it was here that Serhiy Kivalov was in June 2024, when he was injured in a Russian missile attack.

Intent found out that this building is directly related to Moscow State University and has nothing to do with the Law Academy, but it is directly related to Serhiy Kivalov. That is, the land on which this palace was built is, according to the real estate register, a long-term lease to the International Humanities University. However, the building itself, which belonged to Moscow State University until 2007, has been owned by Natalia Kivalova since December 2025.

Intent asked the National University of the OUA about the current status of this building. However, they did not provide a response before the publication of the text.

In addition, Kivalov's wife, according to an extract from the real estate register, owns an apartment hotel, which according to the documents has 175.8 m² and is located on the seashore on the same Novobergova Street. And next to it is a 1528.2 m² apartment for recreation and leisure, owned by the daughter of a lawyer, politician, and philanthropist, Tetiana Kivalova.

As a result, we have real estate that was created and transferred to the state university for use, and over the years has found itself in a complex network of owners and users. Some of the facilities have changed their status, some have become the property or use of private entities associated with the family of the honorary president of the Law Academy, Serhii Kivalov, and some state buildings are used alongside private ones without clear conditions.

These processes took place gradually over the years, through transfers, reorganizations and re-registrations, which eventually created a situation where state and private real estate were effectively intertwined. In the context of the possible merger of the Law Academy with the Technikov National University, this may mean that, along with the educational institution, the new balance sheet holder will receive not only an educational institution, but also a complex and opaque property unit that will require a separate audit and explanation.

As the editorial office adheres to the norms, standards of journalism and legislation, Intent gave the National University of Law and Justice the right to respond and sent a letter to the official email addresses of the rector of the institution and their press service with a request to clarify the situation with the use of real estate. A week later, we also informed them of the date of the text's publication so that the Academy could respond in time. In addition, the author of the text called the numbers listed on the website and Serhiy Kivalov's personal number. However, none of the phone calls were answered: the caller was either out of the area or the connection was not made.

This report was conducted with the support of the program "Stronger Together: Media and Democracy" program implemented by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in partnership with the Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine (ARPU) and the Norwegian Media Business Association (MBL) with support from Norway. The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect the official position of the program partners.

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