Sienkevych’s adviser criticised Kim for applying double standards over the power cuts affecting the businesses run by military personnel’s wives

Hennadiy Zadyrko accused Vitaliy Kim of applying double standards over the power cuts affecting the businesses run by the wives of defence personnel; photo from Facebook

Hennadii Zadyrko, an adviser to the Mayor of Mykolaiv, has publicly addressed Vitalii Kim, a city councillor and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, regarding the power cuts affecting businesses in the Kulbakine neighbourhood of Mykolaiv. Hennadii Zadyrko posted a message to this effect on Facebook on the morning of 4 August, according to NikVesti.

According to him, the day before, «Mykolaivoblenergo» had cut off the electricity supply to business owners, including the wives of a soldier who was killed in action, a soldier who was taken prisoner, and a soldier who is currently defending Ukraine.

The mayor’s adviser claims the reason was that members of the Mykolaiv City Council did not vote to extend the easement agreement. He specifically emphasised that Vitalii Kim also remains a member of the city council.

«The problem is that, for some reason, the city councillors — and you are one of them — did not vote to extend the lease agreement (easement). I’ve been at my wits’ end for the past two days, as I feel ashamed before the memory of my fallen comrade,» wrote Hennadii Zadyrko.

Hennadii Zadyrko, an adviser to the mayor of Mykolaiv, has publicly appealed to Minister Vitalii Kim; screenshot from Facebook

He called on Vitalii Kim to intervene in the situation and help find a comprehensive solution, noting that ‘putting out fires’ is not a systematic approach.

Hennadii Zadyrko also criticised the minister for possible double standards. He referred to certain social media posts claiming that a person with a surname similar to Kim’s had allegedly connected mobile cafés to the electricity grid without a tenancy agreement. However, the mayor’s adviser did not name the specific owner of the establishments.

«I, for example, was never able to persuade the management of Mykolaivoblenergo to hold off on cutting off the power to the wives of this war’s heroes. As the Roman proverb goes: «What is permitted to Jupiter is not permitted to an ox»,» he wrote.

Shortly after his public appeal to Vitalii Kim, Hennadii Zadyrko shared a post by Oleh Liventsov, an activist with the «Batkivshchyna» party. Liventsov had published a photograph of a mobile coffee shop and claimed that «Kim Jr» had allegedly set up a network of such outlets in car parks across Mykolaiv. The author of the post provided no documents or other evidence to support this claim.

Hennadii Zadyrko, an adviser to the mayor of Mykolaiv, shared a post by activist Oleh Liventsov – a screenshot from Facebook

It was likely this information that Hennadii Zadyrko was referring to when he criticised the minister for possible double standards. In his statement, he wrote that ‘a person with a similar surname’ had allegedly connected mobile cafés to the electricity grid without a lease agreement.

Later, in the comments under the post, Hennadii Zadyrko stated that the electricity supply issue had already been resolved.

The issue of electricity supply to businesses in Mykolaiv was handled by Ihor Burda, director of the regional printing works; screenshot from Hennadii Zadyrko’s Facebook page

Responding to users’ questions about whether Vitalii Kim’s intervention had helped, the mayor’s adviser suggested that the public outcry had contributed to the resolution of the situation. According to him, he had already spoken on this matter with Ihor Burda, a former adviser to Vitalii Kim and now acting director of the regional printing house.

«I think the publicity (helped, — note). I don’t know at what level it was resolved. I communicated with Ihor Burda. It’s a shame that people in positions of authority don’t realise that their actions can lead to very serious consequences. All of this could have been prevented. I don’t understand why they would want to cause distress to the public,» replied Hennadii Zadyrko.

NikVesti contacted Ihor Burda to find out the details of the situation. He explained that he had taken an interest in the matter on his own initiative. According to him, the business owners have now been reconnected to the grid.

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As a reminder, in July 2026, Hennadii Zadyrko, an honorary adviser to the mayor of Mykolaiv on matters relating to veterans, the families of fallen defenders and prisoners of war, publicly criticised another honorary adviser to the mayor — Anatolii Diumin, who has been advising Sienkevych on socio-economic issues since 2021 — accusing him of turning municipal land into «slums».

Earlier, in June 2026, shortly after his appointment, Zadyrko called on the residents, businesses and municipal services of Mykolaiv to join in the daily nationwide minute’s silence and not to treat it as a mere formality.

Zadyrko was appointed as Sienkevych’s special adviser on matters relating to veterans, the families of fallen defenders and prisoners of war in June 2026. Hennadii Zadyrko was a Member of Parliament in the sixth convocation (2007–2012).