Volodymyr Bondarenko, former deputy mayor and ex-secretary of the Kyiv City Council, has been charged with involvement in a scheme to help one of the deputies evade military service and unlawfully receive salary payments.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Details of the Investigation Regarding Payments and Assignments
The Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation have established that in 2022–2023, Volodymyr Bondarenko unjustifiably calculated and paid nearly 700,000 hryvnias in salary to an employee of the Kyiv City Council apparatus. It is known that this employee, mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was simultaneously receiving monetary compensation as a serviceman.
“The apparatus employee, who received the funds, upon joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was receiving the corresponding monetary compensation as a serviceman. At the same time, he continued to unjustifiably receive a salary from July 2022 to March 2023,” the statement reads.
In addition, according to the investigation, Bondarenko sent an official letter to the Kyiv City Military Administration requesting the mobilized employee be assigned to perform duties at the Kyiv City Council. Thus, the employee was effectively not fulfilling defense tasks for the country and continued to work at the city council.
Court Proceedings and the Suspect’s Reaction
The prosecutor’s office reported that the indictment against the mobilized employee is already under consideration in court. At the same time, Volodymyr Bondarenko himself called the charges unfounded. According to him, the case concerns the deputy from the “European Solidarity” party, Ihor Khatevych, who holds the position of managing affairs at the Kyiv City Council.
“Thus, the mobilized employee effectively evaded military service, did not report to the military unit, and did not perform any defense tasks for Ukraine. The indictment against him is currently under consideration in court,” the prosecutor’s office noted.
Bondarenko insists on his innocence and claims that the accusations are baseless.