How much advice costs. What are the salaries of Suenkevych and Kim’s advisers?

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych and the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Vitalii Kim, have advisers on various matters. Some of them work on a voluntary basis, whilst for others it is a full-time job with a salary.

NikVesti has investigated who the advisers and assistants to the city and regional leaders are, and what salaries they receive.

Advisers to the Mayor of Mykolaiv

Salaries of advisers to Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, infographic by NikVesti

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych has three permanent advisers: former city councillor Serhii Kartsev, former head of the emergency services department Oleksandr Herasimenia, and the mayor’s press secretary Olena Dvortsova.

Serhii Kartsev

Serhii Kartsev, archive photo by NikVesti

Since 2007, Serhii Kartsev has owned a 126 m² flat in Mykolaiv, which cost 238,000 hryvnias at the time of purchase. In the same year, he purchased an 18 m² garage.

His wife, Nataliia Kartseva, and daughter, Yelyzaveta, have jointly owned a 52-square-metre flat in Mykolaiv since 2003. At the time of purchase, it was worth 12,000 hryvnias.

In addition, Nataliia Kartseva owns a 67-square-metre office in Mykolaiv, which she acquired in 2009. In 2012, she also purchased a 253-square-metre holiday home in Kobleve, and in 2015, a 64-square-metre garage, also in Kobleve.

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In 2015, the family also acquired joint shared ownership of a non-residential property of almost 600m² in Mykolaiv. Nataliia Kartseva’s share in this property is 21.9%, with a further 44.4% belonging to Zoia Kartseva and 33.7% to Susanna Arutiunova.

In 2023, the family acquired a plot of land in joint shared ownership measuring 6,890 square metres in Mykolaiv. Its value, according to the latest valuation, is over 8 million hryvnias. Natalia Kartseva’s share in this property is 21.9%, with a further 44.4% belonging to Zoia Kartseva and 33.7% to Susanna Arutiunova. This is likely the land on which the aforementioned development is situated.

Serhiy Kartsev also declared a 2020 Toyota Camry, which he purchased in 2020 for 976,000 hryvnias. His wife, Nataliia Kartseva, owns a 2013 Kia.

As an adviser to the mayor in 2025, Serhii Kartsev earned 834,000 hryvnias. The declared income does not include personal income tax (PIT) and the military levy. He also received a pension of 172,000 hryvnias. In addition, he declared interest income: 48,000 hryvnias from PJSC «Bank Vostok» and 55,000 hryvnias from JSC «Pivdennyi».

His wife, Nataliia Kartseva, received 445,000 hryvnias in income from professional activities. The couple holds 27,000 dollars and 86,000 hryvnias in cash. Serhii Kartsev holds a further 424,000 hryvnias in bank accounts.

In 2024, Serhii Kartsev earned 744,000 hryvnias in his role as an adviser and also received 138,000 hryvnias in pension payments, as evidenced by his declaration from last year.

Oleksandr Herasimenia

Oleksandr Herasimenia, archive photo NikVesti

In his role as an adviser to the Mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Herasimenia received 898,000 hryvnias in salary in 2025. The amount of declared income does not include personal income tax (PIT) and the military levy. He also received 231,000 hryvnias in pension payments.

Oleksandr Herasimenya’s wife purchased a 44.7 m² flat in Mykolaiv in 2023. Furthermore, since 2001, she has owned a 68.3 m² flat and a 16 m² holiday home in Mykolaiv.

It should be noted that in 2024, Oleksandr Herasimenia earned 760,000 hryvnias in his role as an adviser, and also received a pension of 216,000 hryvnias.

Olena Dvortsova

Olena Dvortsova has been working as an adviser to the mayor since 18 November 2025, as reported to NikVesti by the city council in response to an information request. For the nine working days in November, she received 8,000 hryvnias in salary, and in December — 62,000 hryvnias. In total, over two months in the role of adviser, she earned 71,000 hryvnias. Furthermore, in December, Olena Dvortsova was granted financial assistance amounting to 38,000 hryvnias.

Prior to this, Olena Dvortsova worked as deputy director of the mayor’s department at Mykolaiv City Council. Over the 11 months of 2025, she was paid 470,200 hryvnias in salary, averaging 42,700 hryvnias per month. In November, in addition to her salary, allowances and a bonus, she was also paid a health allowance. The income figures do not include personal income tax (PIT) or the military levy.

According to the declaration, in 2025 Olena Dvortsova received a total of 562,000 hryvnias in pre-tax salary from the Executive Committee of the Mykolaiv City Council.

Her husband, Kostyantyn Dvortsov, declared 924,000 hryvnias in salary received from the International Rescue Committee’s branch in Ukraine. He also received 68,000 hryvnias in pension.

In her 2024 declaration, Olena Dvortsova also reported 111,000 hryvnias in income from the municipal enterprise «MART» television and radio company and 39,000 hryvnias in salary from the Executive Committee of the Mykolaiv City Council. It should be noted that Olena Dvortsova has been working as press secretary to the Mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, since May 2024.

As for property, the official’s husband, Konstantyn Dvortsov, owns a flat and a residential house in Mykolaiv. The value of both properties is not specified in the declaration.

Advisers to the Head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration

Salaries of advisers to the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, infographic by NikVesti

In the patronage service, advisers to the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration received varying levels of salary in 2025 — depending on their position and length of service.

It should be noted that advisers to the patronage service of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration do not submit declarations of assets and income to the NACP; therefore, in this section, we provide only information on salaries, which NikVesti received from the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration in response to a freedom of information request.

Currently, Vitalii Kim has five full-time advisers and one assistant.

«The main tasks of the advisers and the assistant are to provide analytical support for the activities of the regional military administration in addressing the socio-economic development of the Mykolaiv region, organising the work of the head of the regional military administration with the structural units of the RMA, and coordinating with executive authorities, local self-government bodies, military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine,» Vitalii Kim noted in his response to the request.

One of the advisers to the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration is Valentyna Bondarenko, former deputy mayor of Mykolaiv and former head of the finance department of the Mykolaiv City Council. According to official data provided by the Regional Military Administration, she was paid 609,595 hryvnias last year, which amounts to an average of 50,800 hryvnias per month. This income figure does not include personal income tax or the military levy.

Ihor Burda, an adviser to the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, who previously worked in the Capital Construction Department until March 2021 and was dismissed following an incident involving a police chase, received 521,200 hryvnias in salary in 2025. His average monthly income was 43,400 hryvnias. This figure does not include personal income tax and the military levy.

Advisor Viktoria Oliinyk, who, in addition to the duties of an advisor, also serves as Vitalii Kim’s press secretary, earned 535,500 hryvnias in 2025. On average, this amounts to 44,600 hryvnias per month in pre-tax salary.

The income of Nelly Yarovenko, an adviser to the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, who deals with veterans’ issues and, in particular, coordinates the «Veteran’s Assistant» project, amounted to 548,400 hryvnias in 2025, which averages 45,700 hryvnias per month before tax.

In May 2025, the Head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration gained another adviser – Ihor Piskun. Over eight months, he was paid 393,600 hryvnias, or an average of around 49,000 hryvnias per month.

Viktor Fuchenko also holds the post of assistant to the patronage service of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration. In 2025, he was paid 351,500 hryvnias in salary, which amounts to an average of 29,200 hryvnias per month.

The head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Vitalii Kim, and his deputies have submitted their declarations for 2025, detailing their income and assets.

Read also about what the heads of Mykolaiv’s district administrations have declared: property, loans and savings worth millions.