Why the family of Kherson’s “tsars” still hasn’t been held accountable for ties to the traitor Kovalov

Why the family of Kherson’s “tsars” still hasn’t been held accountable for ties to the traitor Kovalov

Acting head of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in the Kherson region, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ihor Klym, and his wife, former head of the Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection in the Kherson region, Natalia Klym, who remained on the occupied territory until the end of August 2022, have still not been held accountable for their ties to the traitor, collaborator and former MP Oleksii Kovalov.

As is known, on 28 August 2022 Oleksii Kovalov was found murdered in his own house in the occupied town of Hola Prystan in Kherson region.

And already on 30 August 2022 local online outlets, citing a post on Ihor Klym’s personal Facebook page (a closed profile), reported that he had left the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region, adding that he had allegedly passed a polygraph test.

He did not provide any explanations for how it happened that one of the region’s key top officials remained on the occupied territory and did not end up "in the basement," while almost all the more or less influential people were detained by the Russians.

Although the fact that Ihor Klym’s departure occurred on the very days when it became known that the collaborator MP Oleksii Kovalov had been killed explains a lot.

The late MP Oleksii Kovalov had long been a patron of tax chief Ihor Klym. When the latter began having career problems, it was Kovalov who helped him get his position back. In return, the tax office did not bother Kovalov; he could safely not pay taxes.

Obviously, as with many others, Kovalov guaranteed safety to Klym, who did not leave Kherson until his patron’s death.

At the same time, it is known that Klym’s wife Natalia remained on the occupied territory until 24 August 2022.

As stated in one of the interrogation protocols, when they left for Ukrainian-controlled territory (Zaporizhzhia): "I, Klym N.H., never communicated with the ‘russkies’ and collaborators, I worked in the specified position for the honor and dignity of Ukraine, received salary and bonuses for the work performed and also 20 of close specialists, I was not forced to torture in the basement," and all services believed her when she worked in the same building with collaborators on Perekopska Street, 17 in Kherson.

Although already on 18 May 2022 deputy head of the Kherson Regional Council Yurii Sobolevskyi wrote on his Facebook page that "Today the orcs looted the premises of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection in the Kherson region. They took everything that could have any material value." He emphasized that this is the "basis of the methodology of their ‘liberation’ campaign" — an army that "fights" with laptops and printers of state institutions.

According to witnesses, Natalia Klym did not allow employees to take State Service property from the Kherson region home for safekeeping, which was later stolen by the occupiers.

It turns out that in the seized premises of the State Service in Kherson region, 21 people worked without material and technical equipment and performed the functions of the state, for which they received salaries and bonuses.

Witnesses say that it was precisely Natalia Klym (then head of the Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection in the Kherson region) who opened the doors to all offices together with the Gauleiter of the occupied part of Kherson region, Volodymyr Saldo, and the head of the so-called structure "Rosselkhoznadzor", former first deputy head of the State Ecological Inspectorate in Kherson region, Serhii Suvorov.

But all this began even earlier, when Natalia Klym wanted to be head of the State Service, while she was only a deputy. And she turned to former MP Oleksii Kovalov for help.

For this, Ihor Klym and Natalia Klym "swore" allegiance to him. And most importantly, the family of Kherson’s "tsars" communicated with Oleksii Kovalov until his last day — they were repeatedly seen at Oleksii Kovalov’s recreation base in Zaliznyi Port and almost daily Kovalov’s car was near the Klyms’ yard.

Starting from 2019, Oleksii Kovalov sheltered them; the whole city knows this, and he promised a position in the "pseudo-government of Kherson region" for his deputy, as minister of agriculture in the occupied region.

Local media also wrote a lot about how Ihor Klym and his wife, despite modest public servant salaries, managed to change cars almost every year. For example, in 2016 he bought a brand-new Toyota Camry for half a million, and already at the beginning of 2020 he replaced it with a new Lexus for almost 600 thousand UAH. This is despite the fact that the tax official and his wife already had several expensive cars in their personal fleet.

In addition, in 2018 Ihor Klym purchased equipment for a solar power plant for more than 580 thousand UAH. And several residential properties somehow ended up in his ownership — apartments, a hotel in Ivano-Frankivsk region. And also family apartments in Bodrum (Turkey), which he bought for his wife Natalia Klym for her birthday for $280 thousand. However, it is unclear in whose name this real estate is registered.

After the death of Oleksii Kovalov, the Klym family left for government-controlled territory within 4 hours (when all citizens were standing in line with small children for 5 days or more).

And these people are again trying to take leadership positions — Ihor Klym was reinstated as deputy head of the tax office and continues to receive a salary. Everyone hoped that the schemes in Kherson region would end, but in January 2023 the leadership of the State Tax Service of Ukraine returned the "friend of collaborators" Saldo and Kovalov. How will the SBU react to this situation?

Author: Serhii Dobryshko