How much does betrayal cost?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
According to Russian budgetary documents, each \u201chead\u201d of 14 so-called \u201cmunicipal districts\u201d receives from 3 to 5 million Rubles per year as a salary from the Russian Federation. For convenient calculations, we convert these and further sums into Ukrainian currency along the exchange rate of the National Bank of Ukraine (as of February 5, 2026) \u2013 1,8 Russian Rubles per 1 UAH. Thus, average yearly salary of \u201cheads\u201d is around 2-3 million UAH.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Budgets of occupied Ukrainian communities do not have articles called \u201csalary\u201d. Almost all of them are called \u201c<\/span>expenses on functioning of senior public official<\/b>\u201d. In financial documents of occupied Novotroitska community, we found separate \u201c<\/span>expenses on salary of senior public official<\/b>\u201d and they have been equal to expenses on functioning\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The salary of collaborators has not been fixed because they have allocated themselves huge sums for \u201cdiligent work\u201d (several salaries). Besides that, traitors receive significant sums for \u201cimprovement of their living conditions\u201d. Some traitors also receive extra payments for their Russian awards. All these surpluses add 20-30% to their \u201cnet salary\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Meeting of heads of Russian occupation administrations on temporary occupied territories of Kherson oblast. October 2025. Photo: Russian occupation social media\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n The system of receiving these bonuses looks like this: \u201chead of administration\u201d puts the respective issue into the agenda of the session of illegal local \u201ccouncil\u201d.\u00a0 Members of the council support unanimously the allocation of extra money to the \u201chead\u201d. That is to say, amount of money spent by the \u201cdistrict\u201d for the work of local collaborators is limited only by appetite of collaborators.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For example, in autumn 2025, members of \u201ccouncil\u201d in occupied Chaplynka allocated to \u201chead\u201d of local occupation administration Lilia Puliaeva three additional salaries. In one month, she received another three additional salaries from members of the council. As a result, she increased her yearly salary by 50%. Respective decisions were signed by Puliaeva and \u201chead of the council\u201d Volodymyr Dombrovsky. Dombrovsky himself received \u201cmaterial assistance\u201d from the \u201ccouncil\u201d but its amount was two times less than Puliaeva\u2019s payments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Salary of Puliaeva has not been specified in 2025 budget of Chaplynka \u201cdistrict\u201d. It seems that this year she will be well off by 2,4 million UAH at minimum. If this former accountant will give herself extra bonuses on a scale of the last year, then, she will get almost 4 million UAH of extra payments this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some \u201cmunicipal districts\u201d do not disclose salaries of their \u201cheads\u201d at all. They hide them behind general figures or do not disclose their budgets. For example, this is the case of occupied Kakhovka, headed by infamous Pavlo Filipchuk. \u201cThe council of deputies\u201d of occupied Velyka Lepetykha has not held its meetings since March 2025. They did not approve yearly budget or \u201cforgot\u201d to publish it online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Traitors Pavlo Filipchuk and Volodymyr Saldo, April 2024. Photo: social media\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n Thus, available information about salaries of \u201cheads\u201d of occupied communities of Kherson oblast is not complete. But it is sufficient to compare salaries of Russian occupation \u201cheads\u201d with salaries of legitimate Ukrainian heads of military administrations of the region.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Left or Right Bank of Dnipro? Whose salaries are higher?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n As soon as Ukrainian public officials on liberated Right Bank of Dnipro in Kherson oblast <\/span>receive<\/span><\/a> their monthly salaries, Russian propagandists write \u201csensational\u201d materials calling Ukrainian officials \u201cparasites\u201d with too high salaries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Who earns more \u2013 Ukrainian professional public officials from liberated Right Bank of Dnipro or masseurs and cleaners from occupied Left Bank appointed by Russian occupants to manage occupied communities? In order to conduct correct comparison, we choose two communities and \u201cmunicipal districts\u201d \u2013 Novotroitsky and Genichesky, almost coinciding with legitimate administrative structure of Ukraine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2025, Yevgenia Kuzmenko, Russian collaborator and \u201chead\u201d of occupation administration of Novotroitsky \u201cdistrict\u201d, received Ruble equivalent of 2\u00a0709\u00a0744 UAH as her yearly salary. In September 2025, local \u201ccouncil of deputies\u201d allocated her extra bonuses of 677\u00a0436 UAH for \u201cdiligent performance of duties\u201d. Thus, her yearly income from the local budget reached 3\u00a0387\u00a0180 UAH. In 2026, her salary can be even higher as Russian occupants increased her salary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kuzmenko is the daughter of local priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under Moscow Patriarchate. Before Russian full scale invasion, she worked as a masseur in Kherson and could not dream about such a salary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yevhenia Kuzmenko, head of Russian occupation administration of Novotroitske community, summer 2025. Photo: Russian occupation mass media\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n Sergii Peretyatko, legitimate Ukrainian head of Novotroitska community, earns around 65 thousand UAH per month or 780 thousand UAH per year. It is 4,3 times less than Russian occupants pay to Kuzmenko.<\/span><\/p>\n There is similar situation in Genichesk community. Last year Russian occupation \u201chead\u201d Julia Semyakina received equivalent of 2\u00a0132\u00a0055 UAH plus three extra salaries as bonuses. Thus, her overall salary reached 2\u00a0665\u00a0068 UAH. In 2026, Russian occupants increased her \u201cnet salary\u201d to 3,1 million UAH per year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last year, legitimate Ukrainian head of Genichesk Military Administration in exile Yevgenii Radionov received 1\u00a0104\u00a0289 UAH as his yearly salary. It is obviously far less than Semyakina\u2019s salary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But all these figures seem to be modest in comparison with the salary of Vladyslav Nikitenko, the head of Russian occupation administration of Nyzhni Sirogozy. According to disclosed documents, in 2025, Ruble equivalent of 5\u00a0015\u00a0666 UAH was planned as his salary. Consequent amendments increased it by 400 thousand UAH. Then, \u201cdeputies of local council\u201d paid him two extra salaries for \u201cgood work\u201d. In 2025, Nikitenko received Russian award \u201cFor services to Kherson region\u201d and another extra bonus. To sum up, his overall salary reached 7\u00a0096\u00a0449 UAH in 2025!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sergii Nikitenko, head of Russian occupation administration of Nyzhni Sirogozy. Photo: social media\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n For comparison, last year the highest salary among Ukrainian legitimate heads of administrations on both banks of Dnipro, liberated and occupied, was paid to Yaroslav Shanko, the Head of Kherson City Military Administration. It reached only 1\u00a0293\u00a0343 UAH. It is nothing in comparison with the level of Russian occupation \u201chead\u201d Vladyslav Nikitenko!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We also compared salaries of heads of oblast administrations \u2013 Ukrainian legitimate and Russian occupation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let us start with Ukrainian legitimate Head of Kherson Oblast Administration Oleksandr Prokudin. According to <\/span>\u0421\u0443\u0441\u043f\u0456\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0435.\u0425\u0435\u0440\u0441\u043e\u043d,\u00a0<\/span><\/a> his 2025 yearly salary reached 2 mln 75 thousand UAH. At the beginning of 2025, his monthly salary has been 161\u00a0491 UAH and at the end of the year \u2013 177\u00a0790 UAH. The salary included basic or net salary, bonus payment for military position, bonus for his length of service within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and extra payment for the access to the state secret information.<\/span><\/p>\n It seems to be quite decent remuneration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, in 2025, Volodymyr Saldo, so-called Russian governor of occupied part of Kherson region, received Ruble equivalent of 18,8 million UAH from Russian occupants. It is nine times higher than Prokudin\u2019s salary!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But in 2026, Russian occupants significantly cut their expenses on Saldo\u2019s well being to the equivalent of 5 million UAH\u2026 Still, it is two times higher than the salary of the legitimate Head of Kherson Oblast Administration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What are conclusions?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Huge deficit of budgets of occupied communities in Kherson oblast and their total dependency upon subsidies from Moscow shape expected results: significant number of the personnel of the public institutions in occupied communities suffers from delayed payments of wages by the end of each year. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Senior public officials-collaborators always receive large salaries, increased by extra bonuses and payments for \u201cspecific achievements\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Each autumn teachers, doctors, construction workers, electricians and employees of cultural institutions in occupied communities start complaining about delayed salaries. Some people are forced by their bosses to take the leave without payments. Some employees keep working 4-5 months without receiving salaries. Others submit complaints to occupation prosecutors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, local senior collaborators keep allocating themselves huge extra bonuses and expand their businesses based on stolen Ukrainian assets or Russian budgetary funds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Publication in Russian media about delayed payment of wages in temporary occupied Kherson oblast, November2025<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cPeople are tired. On the eve of each winter they need resources to buy coal, to pay for municipal services or close their debts. But they are given only empty promises: there is not money, wait, be strong. Employees say that they are not able to make savings because their salaries are low. They emphasize that their salaries were stipulated in the budget at the beginning of year when budgets were approved. And salaries were regularly paid during the first half of the year, sometimes, in advance. But regular salaries suddenly \u201cdisappear\u201d in the second half\u201d, as complained employees of melioration system to Russian journalists in autumn 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How \u201cdisappear\u201d Russian money for public employees in occupied communities? The answer is simple: Russian federal funds are re-allocated for the benefit of senior collaborators. The greed of appointees of Russian occupation authorities (former masseurs and cleaners, politicians-businessmen etc) is enormous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The deficit of the budget of occupied part of Kherson oblast reached an equivalent of 1,2 billion UAH. But Russian occupation authorities and their collaborators plan to spend 1,7 billion UAH for the maintenance of \u201cheads\u201d, \u201cdeputies of local councils\u201d, members of electoral commissions and illegal courts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The situation will worsen as Moscow plans to cut the budget of occupied region by 22% in 2027. But senior collaborators are likely to receive lucrative remuneration for their betrayal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Civil society organization \u201cInformation Press Center\u201d expresses its gratitude for the financial support provided by the European Union through the project \u201cSupport for Frontline Media and Investigative Journalism,\u201d implemented by Internews International. Information agency \u201cThe Center for Journalist Investigations\u201d maintains full editorial independence, and the information provided does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or Internews International.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u041d\u0430 \u043e\u043a\u0443\u043f\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043d\u0456\u0439 \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0456\u0454\u044e \u0447\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438\u043d\u0456 \u0425\u0435\u0440\u0441\u043e\u043d\u0449\u0438\u043d\u0438 \u0442\u0440\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0454 \u0433\u043b\u0438\u0431\u043e\u043a\u0430 \u0431\u044e\u0434\u0436\u0435\u0442\u043d\u0430 \u043a\u0440\u0438\u0437\u0430. \u0420\u0435\u0433\u0456\u043e\u043d \u0445\u0440\u043e\u043d\u0456\u0447\u043d\u043e \u0434\u043e\u0442\u0430\u0446\u0456\u0439\u043d\u0438\u0439, \u0430 \u0432\u0447\u0438\u0442\u0435\u043b\u0456, \u043c\u0435\u0434\u0438\u043a\u0438 \u0439 \u043f\u0440\u0430\u0446\u0456\u0432\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438 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