First Deputy Chairman of the Kherson Regional Council and deputy from the “Servant of the People” party Yuriy Sobolevskyi declared over 3.5 million hryvnias in one year, primarily in the form of foreign currency cash, without providing explanations regarding their origin. Journalists noted discrepancies between the official income of the official and his lifestyle, particularly numerous trips abroad and the use of a premium car registered to his retired father-in-law.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Increase in Wealth and Undeclared Property
In 2019, Sobolevskyi’s declaration included 50 thousand dollars, 40 thousand euros, and nearly one million hryvnias in cash. That same year, he also invested over 600 thousand hryvnias in property rights for an apartment in Kyiv and spent an additional 300 thousand hryvnias, as reflected in his reporting. In his wife’s declaration for the previous year, there were no such savings – only 230 thousand hryvnias in joint savings were indicated.
The official explained that he earned the funds by working as a lawyer and did not include them in his wife’s declaration because “that issue was not discussed.” Regarding the premium car, Sobolevskyi noted that he and his wife invested their own funds, but he did not include the car in the declaration because his wife only uses it occasionally, so it was not considered “principally and significantly.”
“Lawyers do not live solely on their salaries. And if the company allows taking on additional clients, then that is not a problem. (…) It will be difficult to account for every penny earned now,” explained Yuriy Sobolevskyi.
Luxury Car and Family’s Life Abroad
The official’s declaration lacks information about the 2020 Volkswagen Touareg that the Sobolevskyi family uses. This vehicle was purchased from a dealership at the end of 2020 by Yuriy Sobolevskyi’s father-in-law, Andriy Borysenko, for two million hryvnias, which at that time was over 70 thousand dollars. The official income of the retired father-in-law from 1998 to 2020 amounted to 618 thousand hryvnias, and his pension averaged 6 thousand hryvnias per month, which does not cover the cost of the acquired vehicle.
In comments, the official’s father-in-law noted that he “saved money all his life” and that “the children helped.” According to Sobolevskyi, he and his wife partially provided the funds for the car purchase, but he did not declare the vehicle because, in his opinion, it was not significant.
Journalists found that the Volkswagen Touareg was used by the official’s wife and daughter in 2023, 2024, and 2025, as evidenced by social media posts. In particular, data from the traffic violation recording system showed Yelena Sobolevskaya driving this vehicle in Kyiv in May 2024. It is also known that in March 2022, Sobolevskyi’s wife and children left the country in this car and returned in August 2023. During this period, the family lived in the German city of Augsburg, but information about their residence abroad is absent from the official’s declaration.
Yuriy Sobolevskyi explains this by stating that in 2022 he was dealing with other matters and does not remember the details regarding the family’s change of residence.
The official’s daughter regularly posted photos and videos from trips to France, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Turkey on social media in 2022–2025, which are also not reflected in the family’s financial reporting.