Position: Mayor of Kiliya, Odessa region.
Sphere of corrupt activity: construction.
Region of corruption activity: Odessa region.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: in custody.
Case story: On May 26, 2026, law enforcement officers in the Odessa region detained the mayor of one of the settlements on suspicion of extorting a bribe for facilitating the construction of a power plant. This was reported by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
According to the investigation, a Ukrainian company and a British investor planned to build a wind farm in the Odessa region to provide the region with alternative energy in the face of a full-scale war. To do this, they needed permission to cut down trees and bushes along the access roads.
However, the mayor of one of the cities in the Izmail district began to deliberately delay the process of approving documents, citing the lack of environmental inspectors, the busyness of city council employees, and power outages in the city council.
The company even donated three generators to the city council as charity to ensure uninterrupted operation, but that didn't help.
Later, during a meeting at a restaurant, the mayor announced a bribe of $30,000 for signing documents and unhindered approval of the construction. Later, the bribe amount increased to $35,000.
To hide the bribe, the mayor used a crypto scheme. Through an intermediary, he gave the entrepreneurs a code for an Odessa exchanger, where the cash was converted into cryptocurrency and credited to the specified electronic wallet, investigators say.
After the first tranche of $10,000, the mayor confirmed receipt of the money and activated the process of issuing the warrant. After the document was ready, the entrepreneurs received the next code to transfer another $25,000 through the same scheme.
The official was detained after receiving the entire amount. He was suspected of extortion and receiving an illegal benefit in an especially large amount (Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The prosecutor's office appealed to the court to choose a preventive measure for him and remove him from office. The investigation is ongoing.
Media sources in law enforcement agencies reported that the suspect is the mayor of Kiliya, Vyacheslav Chernyavsky. This information is also confirmed by a number of local media in the Odessa region.
Subsequently, the court decided to remand the mayor of Kiliya, Odesa region, Vyacheslav Chernyavskyi, in custody with bail of UAH 41.6 million.
On June 2, 2026, the court removed Vyacheslav Chernyavskyi, the mayor of Kiliya, from his position.
According to the prosecutor's office, at the request of regional prosecutors, the official was suspended from performing his duties from June 1 to July 26. The bail set by the court in the amount of 41.6 million hryvnias was not paid, so he remains in custody in a pre-trial detention center.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: no information is available from open sources about possible accomplices.
Assets: Chernyavsky did not declare any real estate in his 2025 tax return. However, his wife Inna declared three land plots, two residential buildings, and a non-residential building. She also declared an unfinished residential building.
Chernyavsky's income for this year was 716,875 hryvnias, and his wife's was 369,070 hryvnias. However, the couple did not declare any monetary assets.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded to Chernyavsky's criminal activities in a timely manner, presenting him with a suspicion.
Scandals: Before the corruption scheme, he was not seen as a figure in other scandals.
Sources:
https://suspilne.media/odesa/1317923-mera-kilii-vzali-pid-vartu-iz-zastavou-416-mln-grn/
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/2ddb1fcc-6844-439b-88d0-637e428cd667